WRAPUP 2-Housing hurts Spain builders, services aid Germans

* Sales slump at Spanish builders' real estate units

* Metrovacesa slashes investment target by 90 percent

* Acciona mulls selling real estate, FCC reviews outlook

* German builders bolstered by services, mining units

* Hochtief Q3 pretax profit beats expectations

By Sonya Dowsett and Peter Dinkloh

MADRID, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Plunging property prices depressed sales and earnings at Spanish builders on Friday, as one of their German peers benefited from its lower exposure to real estate to post better-than-expected results.

Earnings of Spain's Sacyr (SVO.MC), FCC (FCC.MC) and Acciona (ANA.MC) were hurt by a market in which government data showed house sales had dropped 31 percent in the second quarter. Real estate firm Metrovacesa (MVC.MC) said it would slash planned investments by 90 percent.

But Germany's largest builder Hochtief (HOTG.DE) surprised the market with forecast-beating earnings, helped by its Australian mining business Leighton (LEI.AX), sending its shares soaring.

Although most Spanish constructors have diversified away from the property market by moving into services, energy and public works, they still own divisions related to real estate, which marked heavy losses. Spain is suffering a severe property downturn after nine years of boom.

Metrovacesa said on Friday it would slash investments to a tenth of its previous target, reducing 2009-2012 spending on projects to 212 million euros ($269 million) from a previous 2.082 billion.

Sacyr Vallehermoso, the debt-laden company with the biggest exposure to property of the three, saw real estate pre-sales fall 85 percent in the nine months to September and core earnings at its residential development unit drop by nearly a third.

Acciona, the builder which has moved away from construction into the energy sector with its joint buy of utility Endesa (ELE.MC) with Enel (ENEI.MI) of Italy, said real estate pre-sales were down 72 percent.

It said it was studying the sale of a string of non-core units including selected real estate assets in its portfolio.

Constructor and services group FCC (FCC.MC) said it was re-evaluating the outlook for its business until 2010 given the difficult economic and financial environment after nine-month net profit fell 52 percent, battered by the slowdown in its construction, cement and property businesses in Spain.

DIVERSITY HELPS

That contrasted with Germany's two largest construction companies, Hochtief (HOTG.DE) and Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE).

Essen-based Hochtief said on Friday pretax earnings in the three months to September dropped 32 percent to 123.1 million euros. Nine analysts had on average estimated a slide to 105 million euros after last year's earnings were boosted by a tax gain and a special dividend.

"Hochtief has not felt any real effects to date and we do not see any lasting impacts on our business from this crisis," Chief Executive Herbert Luetkestratkoetter said.

The shares closed up 9.8 percent at 29.47 euros, the second-largest riser on the German mid-cap index MDAX .MDAXI, outperforming the 1.3 percent increase of the DJ Stoxx Construction & Materials index .SXOP.

Smaller competitor Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE) this week also released results that were better-than-expected, helped by an expansion of its services unit, which maintains power plants and industrial facilities.

Metrovasca closed down 1.3 percent at 53.10 euros, FCC climbed 1 percent at 27.11 euros, Sacyr Vallehermoso rose 1.2 percent to 7.70 euros and Acciona advanced 3.9 percent to 73.00 euros.

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett and Peter Dinkloh. Editing by Hans Peters, John Stonestreet)