Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Ara Hovnanian, chief executive officer of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar in New York about the homebuilder's three-day sale of properties starting today, outlook for the U.S. housing market and business strategy. Hovnanian, which lost almost three-quarters of its market value this year, is offering discounts of up to almost $150,000 on homes in 18 states in a sale dubbed "Deal of the Century" as the U.S. housing decline deepens. (Source: Bloomberg)

00:00 Reasons for sale; Florida, California markets
00:58 Is this an act of desperation? "Not at all"
01:37 Sales goal; "quite optimistic" about sale
02:54 Credit situation; Hovnanian's outlook
04:13 Housing slowdown "caught all of us off guard"
04:36 Possibility of acquisitions, strategy
05:41 Housing "bottom is very near."

Running time 06:01

Last Updated: September 14, 2007 08:38 EDT