Toll Brothers: Scraping the Bottom?
The luxury homebuilder reports signs of a bottoming out in some markets. Wall Street hopes that will bring relief for others in the industry
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The colorful CEO of luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL), Robert Toll, stepped forward on Dec. 5 with the claim that some housing markets might be stabilizing. His comments came as a slight disconnect from the company's quarterly news: Profits plunged, customers canceled more orders, and the company took a deep hit on its property holdings.
Most analysts and builders are bracing themselves for further tough times in the housing market, noting that the pain has yet to go around—especially as homebuyers stomach steeper mortgage rates and monthly payments—or, at best, hemming and hawing about what happens next.