Meritage Homes posts quarterly loss versus profit

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. builder Meritage Homes Corp (MTH.N) posted quarterly loss on Thursday and said orders fell 23 percent, reflecting the deteriorating U.S. housing market.

Meritage reported a third-quarter a net loss of $119 million, or $4.52 a share, compared with a profit of $60 million, or $2.25 cents per share, last year.

Analyst on average expected Meritage to report a loss of $2.15 per share according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Ilaina Jonas)