Growing Number of Homebuyers Cancelling Sales at D.R. Horton, Nation’s Largest Home Builder

In the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, sales for home builders held steady despite delays. But now, D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest home builder, is starting to see a rise in cancellations. In March, nearly 1 in 4 homebuyers pulled their orders, resulting in 2,020 cancellations total, up from 1,368 the same time last year. Though the housing giant was recently posting increases in closings and rising home values, these blows have taken its toll on what would have been a spectacular sales season. However, D.R. Horton plans to continue building in areas where housing has been deemed an essential business and believes it is well positioned to weather the storm.

The coronavirus pandemic is beginning to show up in sales cancellations for one of the nation’s top homebuilders.

Arlington-based D.R. Horton said Tuesday that an uptick in cancellations and a drop-off in new orders didn’t surface until late March and early this month, when shelter-in-place restrictions in various parts of the country dramatically slowed economic activity.

Nearly 1 in 4 homebuyers canceled their orders in March, the company said in its preliminary quarterly financial results. It reported 2,020 cancellations last month, compared to 1,368 in the same month a year earlier.

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