By Scott Malone
NEW YORK (Reuters) - For anyone waiting for a rebound in the slumping U.S. housing market, the industry's top executives have a piece of advice: Don't hold your breath.
Home builders at the Reuters Real Estate Summit in New York this week said they didn't expect any improvement until 2008 at the earliest. And even then, their expectations are modest.
"'08 is probably not going to be a year of strong recovery," said Larry Sorsby, executive vice president and chief financial officer at No. 6 U.S. home builder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (HOV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
"Our hope is that it stays no worse than we are today," Sorsby said. "We're not predicting any significant recovery."
After several years of torrid growth and rising prices, the U.S. home market has stalled, with rising interest rates now deterring prospective buyers. New home sales in May fell 1.6 percent, a sharper-than-expected drop, according to data released on Tuesday.
Robert Toll, chairman and chief executive of luxury U.S. home builder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said he expected no pickup this year.
"I see no reason to expect a change in confidence until probably April '08, when the candidates will fairly well be settled for the presidential election, and we'll start to listen to speeches about how we'll get better," Toll said.
Reinforcing this grim view were quarterly losses reported this week by No. 2 U.S. home builder Lennar Corp. (LEN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and fifth-ranked KB Home. (KBH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Continued...
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