(Reuters) – Lennar Corp beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Monday, as historically low existing supply of houses led to sustained demand for new home construction.
With the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently at a two-decade high of nearly 7%, existing housing supply remains tight as a majority of homeowners are unwilling to resell their homes, having locked down home loan rates below 5% in an era of cheap debt.
The “rate lock-in” effect has been a tailwind for homebuilders this year, even as high home prices and mortgage rates constrain affordability for many buyers.
Demand for homes have also been invigorated by homebuilders discounting base prices and offering incentives to buyers in some cases.
The U.S. homebuilder posted earnings at $3.45 per share for the quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $3.24 per share, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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