PRETTY NERVY

Toll Brothers. Inc. makes luxury houses and like the rest of the housing industry, isn't doing very well these days. Their solution to drum up more business among those who have benefited most from the belief in the Free Market Fairy? - GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION. (h/t Atrios)

Toll ends fourth quarter with fix-rate plea

By Alan J. Heavens

Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Posted on Fri, Dec. 5, 2008

Home builder Toll Bros. Inc. coupled its fourth-quarter earnings announcement yesterday with a plea for federal action to push fixed-rate mortgages down to a buyer-stimulating 4.5 percent.

Chief executive officer Robert I. Toll said he supported an idea being considered by the government to guarantee mortgage-backed securities, which would bring rates down to 4.5 percent from the current 5.53 percent.

Toll said he believed the federal government should go further, however, and sweeten the pot with a $20,000 tax credit per home buyer.

Chief financial officer Joel H. Rassman did say that it is estimating delivery of 2,000 to 3,000 homes in fiscal 2009 at an average delivered price of $600,000 to $625,000 per home.

The average price in fiscal 2008, when it delivered 2,927 homes, was $664,000.