Landsea Homes Corp (LSEA) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, greetings, and welcome to the Landsea Homes Corporation Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce you to Drew Mackintosh. Please go ahead.

女士們，先生們，大家好，歡迎來到 Landsea Homes Corporation 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。現在我很高興向您介紹 Drew Mackintosh。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to Landsea Homes Fourth Quarter of 2022 Earnings Call. Before the call begins, I would like to note that this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Landsea Homes cautions its forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described by Landsea Homes and its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

早上好，歡迎來到朗詩家居 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議。在電話會議開始之前，我想指出，本次電話會議將包括聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。 Landsea Homes 警告說，其前瞻性陳述受許多假設、風險和不確定性的影響，這些假設、風險和不確定性會隨著時間的推移而變化。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於朗詩家居及其向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中描述的風險因素。

Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and deciding whether to invest in our securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

因此，不應依賴前瞻性陳述來代表我們在任何後續日期的觀點。您不應過分依賴這些前瞻性陳述來決定是否投資我們的證券。我們不承擔更新前瞻性陳述以反映事件或情況的義務，無論是由於新信息、未來事件還是其他原因，除非適用的證券法可能要求這樣做。

Additionally, reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call to the most comparable GAAP measures can be accessed in Landsea Home's website and in its SEC filings. Hosting the call today are John Ho, Landsea's Chief Executive Officer; Mike Forsum, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Chris Porter, Chief Financial Officer. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to John.

此外，本次電話會議上討論的非 GAAP 財務指標與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對賬可在 Landsea Home 的網站及其提交給 SEC 的文件中找到。今天主持電話會議的是朗詩首席執行官 John Ho； Mike Forsum，總裁兼首席運營官；和首席財務官 Chris Porter。有了這個，我想把電話轉給約翰。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today as we go over our results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022 and give our thoughts on the outlook for our industry and our company.

早上好，感謝您今天加入我們，我們將回顧第四季度和 2022 年全年的業績，並對我們行業和公司的前景發表看法。

Landsea Homes generated total revenue of over $1.4 billion and pretax income of $101 million and earnings of $1.70 per diluted share for fiscal year 2022. The all records for our company. We closed 2,370 homes during the year, representing a 45% increase over 2021 and expanded home sales gross margin by 290 basis points to 20.4%. We also returned capital to our shareholders in an earning accretive manner through our share repurchase program and increased our book value per share by 20% and to $16.04.

朗詩家居在 2022 財年的總收入超過 14 億美元，稅前收入為 1.01 億美元，攤薄後每股收益為 1.70 美元。我們公司的所有記錄。我們在這一年關閉了 2,370 套房屋，比 2021 年增長了 45%，並將房屋銷售毛利率擴大了 290 個基點，達到 20.4%。我們還通過股票回購計劃以增加收益的方式向股東返還資本，並將每股賬面價值提高 20% 至 16.04 美元。

We achieved these financial and operational milestones while growing our presence in key homebuilding markets, maintaining a strong balance sheet. I want to thank all our team members for their contributions to this record-setting year and applaud them for overcoming the operational challenges our industry faced while executing on our business plan.

我們實現了這些財務和運營里程碑，同時擴大了我們在主要住宅建築市場的影響力，保持了強勁的資產負債表。我要感謝我們所有的團隊成員為這個創紀錄的一年做出的貢獻，並為他們在執行我們的業務計劃時克服我們行業面臨的運營挑戰而鼓掌。

While 2022 was a record-setting year in terms of profitability, it was also a year in which the demand environment became more challenging due to a rapid rise in mortgage rates and a subsequent decline in home buyer confidence. This change in market dynamics caused buyers who are in the market for a new home to become more cautious and prompted buyers in our backlog to cancel their purchase contract.

雖然 2022 年在盈利能力方面是創紀錄的一年，但由於抵押貸款利率迅速上升以及隨後購房者信心下降，這一年也是需求環境變得更具挑戰性的一年。市場動態的這種變化導致在市場上購買新房的買家變得更加謹慎，並促使我們積壓的買家取消他們的購買合同。

As a result, our net new order activity in the third and fourth quarters dropped off significantly as compared to the prior year. We believe this is a natural reaction to the sudden change in affordability brought by the rise in interest rates and have taken action through the use of incentives and price adjustments to regain momentum on the sales front. Fortunately, we have begun to see some improvement in market conditions starting in December, and this carried into the new year.

因此，與去年同期相比，我們第三季度和第四季度的淨新訂單活動大幅下降。我們認為這是對利率上升帶來的負擔能力突然變化的自然反應，並已採取措施通過激勵措施和價格調整來恢復銷售勢頭。幸運的是，從 12 月開始，我們已經開始看到市場狀況有所改善，並將這種情況延續到新的一年。

We expect near-term demand conditions to remain volatile and subject to changes in mortgage rates and other macro factors. However, we are encouraged by the success of our sales efforts to start the year. In response to the more uncertain demand environment, we have placed an increased emphasis on cost reduction, balance sheet strength and cash flow generation.

我們預計近期需求狀況將繼續波動，並受抵押貸款利率和其他宏觀因素變化的影響。然而，我們對年初銷售工作的成功感到鼓舞。為了應對更加不確定的需求環境，我們更加重視降低成本、增強資產負債表和產生現金流。

In terms of cost reductions, we are proactively negotiating with our suppliers, vendors and contractors to make sure that the prices we are paying reflect the new market realities. We have experienced significant input cost inflation over the last few years and expect those trends to reverse as the current slowdown works its way through the homebuilding ecosystem.

在降低成本方面，我們正在積極與我們的供應商、供應商和承包商進行談判，以確保我們支付的價格反映新的市場現實。在過去幾年中，我們經歷了顯著的投入成本通脹，並預計隨著當前的放緩在住宅建築生態系統中發揮作用，這些趨勢將會逆轉。

We're also working on establishing more favorable vendor agreements with our national suppliers that factor in our increased size and scale. While land prices typically take longer to adjust during a market correction, we remain disciplined with our land acquisition efforts and have walked away from several current transactions and are prepared to walk away from option agreements should they no longer meet our hurdle rates.

我們還致力於與我們的國家供應商建立更有利的供應商協議，以考慮到我們規模和規模的增加。雖然在市場調整期間土地價格通常需要更長的時間來調整，但我們仍然對我們的土地收購工作保持紀律，並且已經放棄了幾項當前交易，並準備在他們不再滿足我們的門檻率時放棄期權協議。

We have also made changes to our overhead cost structure, reducing headcount by approximately 8%, which would improve our operational efficiency and expense leverage. As we announced earlier this week, we are relocating our corporate headquarters to Dallas, Texas, from Southern California, a move that should provide cost savings over time that will allow us to operate more effectively as a national homebuilder.

我們還改變了間接成本結構，將員工人數減少了約 8%，這將提高我們的運營效率和費用槓桿。正如我們本週早些時候宣布的那樣，我們正在將公司總部從南加州遷至德克薩斯州達拉斯，此舉將隨著時間的推移節省成本，使我們能夠更有效地作為全國房屋建築商運營。

This move should also signal our commitment to growing our homebuilding presence in that state. With respect to the balance sheet, we ended the year at the low end of our targeted debt-to-cap range at 41.6%. We also had $141 million in cash and $160 million available under our revolving credit facility, giving us plenty of liquidity to operate from a position of strength. We also extended the term of our credit facility pushing out the maturity date to 2025.

此舉也應表明我們致力於擴大我們在該州的房屋建築業務。在資產負債表方面，我們年底時處於目標債務上限範圍的低端 41.6%。我們還擁有 1.41 億美元的現金和 1.6 億美元的循環信貸額度，這為我們提供了充裕的流動資金，使我們能夠在實力雄厚的情況下開展業務。我們還延長了信貸額度的期限，將到期日推遲到 2025 年。

Our current plan calls for a reduction in land acquisition and development relative to 2022, which would put us in a great position to generate cash from operations, giving us additional optionality to pay down debt, reinvest in our operations should more favorable opportunities arise or return capital to shareholders. Our Board of Directors recently approved extending our $10 million share repurchase authorization, giving us the added option of buying our stock with excess cash.

我們目前的計劃要求相對於 2022 年減少土地收購和開發，這將使我們處於從運營中產生現金的有利位置，使我們有更多的選擇權來償還債務，並在更有利的機會出現或回報時對我們的運營進行再投資給股東的資本。我們的董事會最近批准延長我們 1000 萬美元的股票回購授權，為我們提供了用多餘現金購買股票的額外選擇。

We accomplished a lot in 2022 from both a strategic and financial standpoint, that has poised us well to continue to drive our homebuilding operations to the next level. We've established a presence in some of the best markets in the country and have quickly scaled our operations, thanks to great execution by our teams, our affordable product focus and the appeal of our high-performance homes.

從戰略和財務的角度來看，我們在 2022 年取得了很多成就，這使我們做好了繼續推動我們的房屋建築業務更上一層樓的準備。由於我們團隊的出色執行力、我們對實惠的產品的關注以及我們高性能住宅的吸引力，我們已經在該國一些最好的市場建立了業務並迅速擴大了我們的業務規模。

Our strong financial condition gives us the stability to operate with confidence during uncertain times and take advantage of opportunities should they arise. As a result, I remain very confident in the future of Landsea Homes.

我們強大的財務狀況使我們能夠在不確定時期充滿信心地穩定運營，並在機會出現時利用它們。因此，我對朗詩家居的未來充滿信心。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Mike, who will provide more detail on our operations.

有了這個，我想把電話轉給邁克，他將提供有關我們運營的更多細節。

Thanks, John, and good morning to everyone on the call. Landsea Homes closed 703 homes in the fourth quarter of 2022, representing a 32% increase over the fourth quarter of 2021 and taking our total homes closed for the year to 2,370. Our teams did an excellent job throughout the quarter communicating with buyers and backlog and giving them the confidence to close on their home.

謝謝，約翰，大家早上好。 Landsea Homes 在 2022 年第四季度關閉了 703 套房屋，比 2021 年第四季度增長了 32%，使我們全年關閉的房屋總數達到 2,370 套。我們的團隊在整個季度與買家和積壓的訂單溝通方面做得非常出色，讓他們有信心完成他們的家。

Backlog preservation and conversion were our top priorities for the quarter and this focus helped us produce strong top line growth and cash flow from operations. It also limited our ability to be more aggressive on the sales front, which led to a disappointing order performance for the quarter. However, as John mentioned, we began to see improvement in order activity starting in December, which has carried into the new year.

積壓訂單的保存和轉換是我們本季度的首要任務，這一重點幫助我們實現了強勁的收入增長和運營現金流。這也限制了我們在銷售方面更加積極進取的能力，導致本季度的訂單表現令人失望。然而，正如約翰所提到的，我們從 12 月開始看到訂單活動有所改善，這一直持續到新的一年。

Following fourth quarter's net absorption pace of $0.5 per community, our order pace improved to 1.8 per community in January and accelerated to 2.8 per community in February. Part of the demand improvement we have seen can be attributed to mortgage rates coming off their highs, but an equally important factor has been our ability to be more responsive with pricing and incentives now that we've closed out a majority of our high-margin backlog.

繼第四季度每個社區 0.5 美元的淨吸收速度之後，我們的訂單速度在 1 月份提高到每個社區 1.8 個，並在 2 月份加速到每個社區 2.8 個。我們看到的部分需求改善可歸因於抵押貸款利率從高位回落，但一個同樣重要的因素是我們能夠在定價和激勵措施方面更加敏感，因為我們已經關閉了大部分高利潤積壓。

We understand that most buyers are trying to solve for a monthly payment that fits their budget. And we have been able to address their affordability needs through some combination of base price reduction and financing incentives. We believe that this is a clear sign that there is demand elasticity in our markets and that there continues to be motivated new homebuyers at the right price.

我們知道大多數買家都在努力解決符合他們預算的每月付款問題。我們已經能夠通過降低基本價格和融資激勵措施的某種組合來滿足他們的負擔能力需求。我們認為，這是一個明顯的跡象，表明我們的市場存在需求彈性，並且繼續以合適的價格吸引新的購房者。

We have recently seen an uptick in buyers coming from single-family rental situations who now want to own their home. Typically, these buyers want a quick close, and we have enough inventory in our communities that are at or near completion to satisfy this demand. Another positive recent development has been a noticeable improvement in the supply chain.

我們最近看到來自單戶出租的買家數量有所增加，他們現在想要擁有自己的房子。通常，這些買家希望快速成交，而我們社區中有足夠的即將完工或即將完工的庫存來滿足這一需求。另一個積極的近期發展是供應鏈的顯著改善。

Cycle times have come down 30 days from their peak as labor and materials availability have gotten better with the slowdown in activity. While most of this improvement is on the front end of the construction process, we are starting to see shorter lead times on key product categories that we need to get our homes closed. After years of delays and disruptions, better cycle times and a more reliable supply chain will be a great tailwind for our industry and will allow us to turn our inventory more quickly. Overall, I am optimistic about the current state of our industry and the direction of our company.

隨著活動放緩，勞動力和材料可用性變得更好，週期時間已從高峰期縮短了 30 天。雖然這種改進大部分是在施工過程的前端，但我們開始看到關閉房屋所需的關鍵產品類別的交貨時間越來越短。在經歷了多年的延誤和中斷之後，更好的周期時間和更可靠的供應鏈將對我們的行業產生巨大的推動作用，並使我們能夠更快地周轉庫存。總體而言，我對我們行業的現狀和公司的發展方向持樂觀態度。

After two difficult quarters marked by sluggish sales and increased cancellations, we are starting to see a real shift in the marketplace. Buyers are responding to the pricing and incentive adjustments we are making, and homebuyer confidence has improved thanks to a resilient economy and a healthy employment picture. We are excited about the future in the markets we're in, and we believe we have an opportunity to gain market share, thanks to our focus on affordability and our compelling and differentiated high-performance homes series. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Chris, who will provide more detail on our financial results and give some guidance on our first quarter outlook.

在經歷了以銷售低迷和取消訂單增加為標誌的兩個困難季度之後，我們開始看到市場發生了真正的轉變。買家正在對我們正在進行的定價和激勵調整做出回應，由於經濟有彈性和健康的就業形勢，購房者的信心有所提高。我們對我們所處市場的未來感到興奮，並且我們相信我們有機會獲得市場份額，這要歸功於我們對負擔能力的關注以及我們引人注目的差異化高性能住宅系列。有了這個，我想把電話轉給克里斯，他將提供更多關於我們財務業績的細節，並對我們第一季度的前景提供一些指導。

Thanks, Mike, and good morning, everyone. For the fourth quarter, we generated $426 million in revenue, a 6.9% increase over 2021 as our move into Florida continued to show benefits along with increased sales from our New York and Texas operations. Pretax income for the quarter was $34.4 million, while net income was $25.6 million or $0.62 per diluted share. This compares to $49.2 million in pretax income and $38.4 million or $0.83 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2021.

謝謝，邁克，大家早上好。第四季度，我們創造了 4.26 億美元的收入，比 2021 年增長 6.9%，因為我們進軍佛羅里達州繼續顯示出收益，同時紐約和德克薩斯業務的銷售額也有所增加。本季度稅前收入為 3440 萬美元，淨收入為 2560 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 0.62 美元。相比之下，2021 年第四季度的稅前收入為 4920 萬美元，3840 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益為 0.83 美元。

As both Mike and John discussed earlier, we faced increased incentives and price discounts as we delivered high-margin backlog during the quarter and solve for the price clearing market. Our home sales gross margin decreased 250 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 to end at 19% due primarily to these items. Homes -- just as home sales gross margin decreased 160 basis points to 23.4%.

正如 Mike 和 John 之前討論的那樣，我們在本季度交付高利潤積壓訂單並解決價格清算市場時面臨更多的激勵和價格折扣。與 2021 年第四季度相比，我們的房屋銷售毛利率下降了 250 個基點，最終為 19%，主要原因是這些項目。房屋——房屋銷售毛利率下降 160 個基點至 23.4%。

Incentives as a percentage of home sales revenue came in at slightly over 3% and were primarily the result of mortgage rate buydowns. The fourth quarter results, though solidified our record year where we delivered $1.4 billion in revenue, a 41.4% increase over 2021 and pretax income of $101.1 million, a 51% increase over last year and a 39% increase in net income to $73.6 million or $1.70 per diluted share.

激勵措施佔房屋銷售收入的百分比略高於 3%，主要是抵押貸款利率回購的結果。第四季度的業績鞏固了我們創紀錄的一年，我們實現了 14 億美元的收入，比 2021 年增長 41.4%，稅前收入為 1.011 億美元，比去年增長 51%，淨收入增長 39% 至 7360 萬美元或稀釋後每股 1.70 美元。

The results were driven by strong ASP growth in Arizona, the expansion in Florida where we delivered 1,106 homes and $473 million in revenue, and our New York project providing $111.4 million in home sales revenue. Our home sales gross margin improved 290 basis points year-over-year to 20.4% and our adjusted home sales gross margin improved 430 basis points year-over-year to 26.9%.

亞利桑那州 ASP 的強勁增長、我們在佛羅里達州的擴張交付了 1,106 套房屋並帶來了 4.73 億美元的收入，以及我們在紐約的項目提供了 1.114 億美元的房屋銷售收入。我們的房屋銷售毛利率同比提高 290 個基點至 20.4%，調整後的房屋銷售毛利率同比提高 430 個基點至 26.9%。

We generated 88 net new orders in the fourth quarter, down 80% from last year as we felt the impact of the sharp increase in interest rates and buyers waited on the sideline for a more solid direction from the Federal Reserve. The overall slowdown in net orders was reflected in our absorption rate for the quarter at 0.5 homes per community. For the year, we averaged 2.4 homes per community.

我們在第四季度產生了 88 個淨新訂單，比去年下降了 80%，因為我們感受到了利率急劇上升的影響，買家在場邊等待美聯儲更穩健的方向。淨訂單的整體放緩反映在我們本季度的吸收率為每個社區 0.5 個家庭。這一年，我們平均每個社區有 2.4 個家庭。

We ended the quarter with an average 58 selling communities, up from 35% in the fourth quarter of last year. And for the full year of 2023, we expect to grow our year-end active community count by 15% to 20% as compared to year-end 2022. To address some of the buyers' sensitivities, we have continued to work with Landsea mortgage to address buyers' payment needs, including locking in 30-year fixed mortgages below 5% and have seen good momentum from these efforts.

我們在本季度結束時平均有 58 個銷售社區，高於去年第四季度的 35%。與 2022 年底相比，我們預計到 2023 年全年，我們的年終活躍社區數量將增加 15% 至 20%。為了解決買家的一些敏感問題，我們繼續與朗詩抵押貸款合作以滿足買家的付款需求，包括將 30 年期固定抵押貸款鎖定在 5% 以下，並且從這些努力中看到了良好的勢頭。

We also began Landsea title in early 2023 to further enhance our homebuyers' experience. Having our own title company allows us to ensure the highest level of service and maximize efficiencies throughout the home buying process by controlling the quality and timing of title and closing. In the fourth quarter, our SG&A expense was $43.5 million or 10.4% of home sales revenue, a 230 basis point improvement from fourth quarter of last year. And for the full year, we had $178.6 million in SG&A expense or 12.8% of home sales revenue, a 30 basis point improvement.

我們還在 2023 年初開始使用朗詩，以進一步提升購房者的體驗。擁有我們自己的產權公司使我們能夠通過控制產權和交割的質量和時間來確保最高水平的服務並最大限度地提高整個購房過程的效率。第四季度，我們的 SG&A 費用為 4350 萬美元，佔房屋銷售收入的 10.4%，比去年第四季度提高了 230 個基點。全年，我們的 SG&A 費用為 1.786 億美元，佔房屋銷售收入的 12.8%，提高了 30 個基點。

As John said earlier, we will continue to monitor and adjust our overhead structure as the market evolves. Our tax expense in the fourth quarter was $7.9 million, which represents an effective tax rate of 23.1%, reflecting the catch-up of the federal energy-efficient home credits. For the year, our tax effective rate was 25.1%. For 2023, we expect our tax rate to range between 25.5% and 26%.

正如約翰之前所說，隨著市場的發展，我們將繼續監控和調整我們的間接費用結構。我們在第四季度的稅收支出為 790 萬美元，有效稅率為 23.1%，反映了聯邦節能家庭信貸的追趕。今年，我們的有效稅率為 25.1%。對於 2023 年，我們預計我們的稅率將在 25.5% 至 26% 之間。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with a healthy $301 million in liquidity, which includes $141 million in cash and $160 million in availability under our unsecured revolving credit facility. After we paid down $80 million during the quarter, we also extended the maturity an additional year and remain committed to continue to expand our lending relationships and borrowing capacity.

轉向資產負債表。本季度結束時，我們擁有 3.01 億美元的健康流動資金，其中包括 1.41 億美元的現金和 1.6 億美元的無擔保循環信貸額度。在本季度還清 8000 萬美元後，我們還將期限延長了一年，並繼續致力於繼續擴大我們的借貸關係和借貸能力。

As John stated in his opening comments, we are focused on strengthening our balance sheet and preserving liquidity in these uncertain times. We feel this will enable us to operate from a position of strength as we move into 2023. We finished 2022 with $505.4 million in total debt and achieved net debt of $364.7 million. Our ratio of debt to capital at the end of the quarter was 41.6%, and our net debt to total capital ratio was 30%.

正如約翰在開場白中所說，在這些不確定的時期，我們專注於加強我們的資產負債表並保持流動性。我們認為這將使我們能夠在進入 2023 年時處於有利地位。到 2022 年，我們的總債務為 5.054 億美元，淨債務為 3.647 億美元。本季度末我們的債務資本比率為 41.6%，我們的淨債務資本比率為 30%。

Now I'd like to provide some guidance for the first quarter of 2023. This guidance is based on our best estimate as of today with the current market conditions as inflation and interest rates continue to change, their impact may affect our overall results. With that said, we anticipate first quarter new home deliveries to be in the range of 400 to 445 units and delivery ASPs to be in the range of $520,000 to $525,000.

現在，我想為 2023 年第一季度提供一些指導。該指導是基於我們截至今天的最佳估計，當前的市場狀況是通貨膨脹和利率持續變化，它們的影響可能會影響我們的整體業績。話雖如此，我們預計第一季度新房交付量將在 400 至 445 套之間，交付平均售價將在 520,000 美元至 525,000 美元之間。

We anticipate GAAP home sales gross margins to be in the 17% to 18% range, reflecting continued price discounts and incentives with adjusted gross margins hovering around 21% to 23%. Now that concludes our prepared remarks. And now we'd like to open up the call for questions.

我們預計 GAAP 房屋銷售毛利率在 17% 至 18% 之間，反映出持續的價格折扣和激勵措施，調整後的毛利率徘徊在 21% 至 23% 左右。現在我們準備好的發言結束了。現在我們想公開提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Alex Rygiel from B. Riley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 B. Riley 的 Alex Rygiel。

Nice quarter, gentlemen. Tough times here, but it seems like you're managing through it well. John or Mike, could you talk a little bit about some of the regional demand trends that you're seeing across your four state territories?

不錯的地方，先生們。這裡的艱難時期，但看起來你正在很好地度過難關。約翰或邁克，你能談談你在四個州領地看到的一些區域需求趨勢嗎？

Mike, do you want to?

邁克，你想要嗎？

Sure. Alex, it's Mike.

當然。亞歷克斯，是邁克。

I would say, really coming to the end of December to where we are today, that we have had a very nice bump back in all of our markets through all of our regions and through all of our demographics. We're knocking on wood that this continues, but we have been very excited about week-over-week sales absorption paces at all of our communities. And it seems that we're finding the sweet spot between our price recalibration and what we're offering in terms of financial incentives to drive the right type of traffic and to get the right absorption rates back into our communities.

我要說的是，真的到了 12 月底，我們今天所處的位置，我們在所有地區和所有人口統計數據中的所有市場都出現了非常好的反彈。我們正在敲木頭，這種情況會繼續下去，但我們對我們所有社區每週的銷售吸收速度感到非常興奮。似乎我們正在重新調整價格與我們提供的經濟激勵措施之間找到最佳點，以推動正確類型的流量並使正確的吸收率回到我們的社區。

That is helpful. And then what was the cancellation rate in the fourth quarter? And maybe talk about sort of the trends in cancellation rate December, January, February and how that's changed?

這很有幫助。那麼第四季度的取消率是多少？或許可以談談 12 月、1 月、2 月的取消率趨勢，以及它是如何變化的？

Well, the cancellation in the fourth quarter, particularly in Arizona was extraordinarily high. We basically ran up to as close to 72% in that market in general. We're ranging between probably 10% to 40% in our other markets. But since that time, Alex, it has normalized back down between the 9% to 15% range as we've been going forward under our new pricing and incentive structure.

好吧，第四季度的取消率非常高，尤其是在亞利桑那州。一般來說，我們在那個市場上基本上達到了接近 72%。我們在其他市場的比例可能在 10% 到 40% 之間。但從那時起，亞歷克斯，隨著我們在新的定價和激勵結構下的前進，它已經正常化回落在 9% 到 15% 的範圍內。

That is very helpful. And then the number of homes under construction. And can you talk a little bit about sort of back strategy versus build to quarter?

這很有幫助。然後是在建房屋的數量。你能談談某種支持策略與按季度構建的策略嗎？

Well, right now, we have roughly around 540 houses under construction, approximately around 100 or so or nearing total completion. That's dispersed around all of our 58 communities. So on average, it's not a lot, roughly around 2-ish, I would say, maybe more in some others and less in others. But what we're finding is that the market is responding like a resell market. Most of our buyers are transacting in a period of 45 to 30 days. This is mostly around locking in interest rates that are favorable to them. So we see it as, I guess, what maybe some of our industry peers are talking about sort of a spec inventory strategy around sales. We're deploying a lot of those same kind of methodologies and processes to do exactly that. So if we have a house near completion, we're highly successful in getting that sold and closed within that 45- to 30-day period.

那麼，現在，我們大約有 540 棟房屋在建，大約有 100 棟左右或接近完工。這分散在我們所有的 58 個社區中。所以平均來說，它不是很多，大約 2-ish，我會說，在其他一些人中可能更多，而在其他人中可能更少。但我們發現，市場的反應就像一個轉售市場。我們的大多數買家在 45 到 30 天內進行交易。這主要是圍繞鎖定對他們有利的利率。所以我們認為，我猜，我們的一些行業同行可能正在談論一種圍繞銷售的規範庫存策略。我們正在部署許多相同類型的方法和流程來做到這一點。因此，如果我們有一棟即將完工的房子，我們會非常成功地在 45 到 30 天內將其售出並關閉。

Our next question comes from the line of Carl Reichardt from BTIG.

我們的下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Carl Reichardt。

Alex just asked one of my questions, but I did want to ask about the lot count. So I think it's 5,300 owned. What percentage of those are fully developed? And What's your guess as to what your 'development spend might be this year either on taking down a lot options or finishing out the stuff you own already?

亞歷克斯只是問了我的一個問題，但我確實想問一下批次計數。所以我認為它擁有 5,300 個。其中有多少是完全開發的？您對今年的“開發支出”有何猜測，要么用於取消很多選項，要么完成您已經擁有的東西？

Carl, this is John. So that's about -- the lots that we own, that's about 25% of our total lot count. And as we've shared before, our goal is to really be building a home on that lot within 12 to 18 months. So I would say most of those slots are -- that we own and have taken down, are very close to starting homes on within that time period. Anything that would require entitlements or require more land development, we typically have used more of a structured transaction where we'll be taking down that closer to when it's in finished lot condition.

卡爾，這是約翰。這就是——我們擁有的地塊，大約占我們總地塊數量的 25%。正如我們之前分享的那樣，我們的目標是在 12 到 18 個月內真正在該地塊上建造房屋。所以我想說的是，這些插槽中的大部分都是——我們擁有並已經拆除的插槽，非常接近在那個時間段內開始建造房屋。任何需要權利或需要更多土地開發的東西，我們通常會更多地使用結構化交易，我們將在接近完工地段時將其取消。

As it relates to sort of executing on our options this year, I think we shared in our prepared remarks, so anything that we believe still meets our underwriting guidelines, we'll still execute on. Anything that we believe may be challenged, whether it's by pricing or whether by cost, we're reengaging with the landowners and the sellers to renegotiate some of that, the transaction structure and sometimes pricing as well. So our land spend will be down this year, I would say, probably in that 20% to 25% range overall this year given how fast we grew in 2022 with the expansion in Florida.

因為它涉及到我們今年的期權執行，我想我們在準備好的評論中分享了，所以我們認為仍然符合我們的承銷準則的任何事情，我們仍然會執行。我們認為任何可能受到挑戰的東西，無論是定價還是成本，我們都在與土地所有者和賣家重新接觸，重新談判其中的一些，交易結構，有時還有定價。因此，我想說，考慮到我們在 2022 年隨著佛羅里達州的擴張而增長的速度，今年我們的土地支出可能會下降 20% 到 25%。

I appreciate that detail, John. And then just on the side note, did you walk from any option contracts this fourth quarter? And if you did, what were the charges associated?

我很欣賞這個細節，約翰。然後在旁注中，您是否在第四季度放棄了任何期權合約？如果你這樣做了，相關的費用是多少？

We didn't walk from any in the fourth quarter. We didn't have any charges in the fourth quarter.

我們在第四節沒有離開。我們在第四季度沒有任何費用。

Okay. And then last question, just on the community count growth, Chris, I think you said 15% to 20% target for '23. Is that -- will that result in any significant mix adjustments geographically? Obviously, Texas is coming, I know, but just as -- and obviously, New York going away. But roughly, what do you think your split among communities might be if you hit that target in '23 in terms of geographical share.

好的。最後一個問題，關於社區數量的增長，克里斯，我想你說的是 23 年 15% 到 20% 的目標。那是——這會在地理上導致任何重大的組合調整嗎？顯然，我知道得克薩斯州即將到來，但同樣——而且很明顯，紐約即將離開。但粗略地說，如果你在 23 年達到地理份額方面的目標，你認為你在社區之間的分裂可能是什麼。

Yes. It will be about the same split as it was at the end of the year. Like you said new York went down, so -- but we only had three lots left in New York. But generally speaking, we're trying to maintain that balance between the different regions. Texas will come on towards the end of the year with more volume. But generally speaking, it will be about the same mix.

是的。這將與年底時大致相同。就像你說紐約衰落了，所以——但我們在紐約只剩下三個地塊了。但總的來說，我們正在努力保持不同地區之間的平衡。德克薩斯州將在今年年底以更多的數量出現。但一般來說，這將是大致相同的組合。

Our next question comes from the line of Matthew Bouley from Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Matthew Bouley。

Question on some of the year-to-date trends. It was helpful color there that you gave around sales pace in January and February. Just curious, as clearly, there was a strong start to the year in a lot of places, we've seen with your peers and then rates have kind of moved higher call it, mid-February and you've seen some of the pullbacks in the overall data.

關於一些年初至今的趨勢的問題。您在 1 月和 2 月的銷售速度周圍給出了有用的顏色。只是好奇，很明顯，今年很多地方都有一個強勁的開端，我們已經看到你的同行，然後利率有點走高，稱之為 2 月中旬，你已經看到了一些回調在整體數據上。

I'm curious if you guys can get into some of the leading edge of trends, what's been -- how has the market been kind of evolving in the past couple of weeks? And specifically with -- you can kind of layer on the incentive conversation into that, were you pulling back on incentives and now having to press a little harder? How is that playing into this very dynamic environment?

我很好奇你們是否可以進入一些前沿趨勢，過去幾週市場是如何演變的？特別是 - 你可以在激勵對話中加入一些層次，你是否取消了激勵措施並且現在不得不更加努力？在這個充滿活力的環境中如何發揮作用？

Yes, sure. Matt, it's Mike. Solid question. I would say, but let me just begin by saying our sales week last week was probably one of the best sales weeks we had this year, if not probably since the history of our company, albeit we have more communities than we've had before. But it does not seem like the trends are abating currently as well as the fact that we are decreasing our incentives. And as we go forward. And what I mean by that decreasing really around price decreases and incentives to kind of keep our homes moving absorption rates up.

是的，當然。馬特，是邁克。可靠的問題。我會說，但讓我先說上週我們的銷售周可能是我們今年最好的銷售週之一，如果不是我們公司歷史以來最好的銷售週之一，儘管我們擁有比以前更多的社區.但目前趨勢似乎並沒有減弱，事實上我們正在減少我們的激勵措施。隨著我們前進。我的意思是真正圍繞價格下降和激勵措施來降低我們的房屋吸收率。

We found sort of the bottom of that around the first week or so of January, as we were coming through December and started to feel sales kind of moderating, to the extent that they were and what we were against and then found the sweet spot and it's been building since that point. So really, what we did see is we're -- the high cancellation rate came through the company. We had to make the course corrections that were probably larger and bigger around pricing, adding more incentive to get the absorptions. And then as we've come through and the new year has begun, those prices adjustments have retracted.

我們在 1 月的第一周左右發現了這種情況的底部，因為我們正在經歷 12 月並開始感到銷售放緩，在某種程度上他們是和我們反對的，然後找到了最佳點和從那時起它一直在建設。所以真的，我們確實看到了我們 - 高取消率來自公司。我們不得不在定價方面做出可能越來越大的路線修正，增加更多的激勵來獲得吸收。然後當我們度過難關並開始新的一年時，這些價格調整已經收回。

And in some cases, we're now reselling at par if we have a cancellation. And in other areas, particularly like in North Orlando, we've actually -- he's still getting some price increases, albeit minor from where they were in the past. But we're still able to get some price increasing into some of our communities.

在某些情況下，如果我們取消訂單，我們現在會以平價轉售。在其他地區，尤其是在北奧蘭多，我們實際上——他的價格仍在上漲，儘管與過去相比漲幅很小。但是我們仍然能夠在我們的一些社區中提高價格。

So I think, again, we're feeling that the consumer is adjusting to the new normal, which is rates that are around that 5-ish, if you will, with a 5 handle on it. They know it's not going back to 3.5. They're looking at pricing, and they're seeing some adjustments that are being made, but they're not looking at radical price adjustments. The resale market continues to be very low. So their options are limited. And we're seeing people coming out of rentals. They've been there for a year, their leases are coming up. They're seeing their rental rates going up, and they're seeing this as an opportunity to jump into the new housing market. And I think we're capitalizing on that.

所以我認為，我們再次感覺到消費者正在適應新常態，即利率在 5 左右，如果你願意的話，有 5 個句柄。他們知道它不會回到 3.5。他們正在考慮定價，他們看到正在進行一些調整，但他們並沒有考慮激進的價格調整。轉售市場仍然很低。所以他們的選擇是有限的。我們看到人們從出租屋裡出來。他們在那裡已經一年了，他們的租約即將到期。他們看到他們的租金上漲，他們將此視為進入新住房市場的機會。我認為我們正在利用這一點。

I will say though that probably the more attracted to our smaller square footages and lower price points, which you would expect. But we believe that we have a really wide array of attractive products that are available to them. And we have inventory that we can deliver in that 45- to 30-day period. So I think all in all, we're really excited about how the year has commenced. We're knocking on wood that it continues, but we're feeling pretty good from at least the optics we have about what the future looks like here in the next quarter or so.

我要說的是，這可能更吸引我們較小的平方英尺和較低的價格點，這是您所期望的。但我們相信，我們有非常廣泛的有吸引力的產品供他們使用。我們擁有可以在 45 到 30 天內交付的庫存。所以我認為總而言之，我們對這一年的開始感到非常興奮。我們正在敲木頭，它會繼續，但至少從我們對下個季度左右的未來前景的看法來看，我們感覺非常好。

Got it. That's super helpful. So then a second one on the gross margin. To the extent you've been reducing incentives, and I think I heard John say earlier that you're starting to see some of the cost reductions coming through. I know you don't want to guide beyond Q1, but are you getting any kind of visibility to a bottoming in gross margins at some point? Or is it just kind of too early to say at this stage?

知道了。這非常有幫助。那麼關於毛利率的第二個。在某種程度上，你一直在減少激勵措施，我想我之前聽約翰說過，你開始看到一些成本削減正在發生。我知道您不想在第一季度之後進行指導，但是您是否對某個時候的毛利率觸底有任何了解？還是現階段說還為時過早？

I think it's probably too early, Matt. We will start seeing probably the benefits of some of those cost reductions, but that's probably not going to happen till the latter quarters of this year, the third and fourth quarter. And it really depends on how much more we need to continue to provide incentives throughout the next several quarters. So if we continue to see the momentum that we've had in this year, then there's certainly an opportunity for some margin expansion in the latter half of this year. But I think we'll have to wait and see how this next quarter or two goes.

我認為現在可能還為時過早，馬特。我們可能會開始看到其中一些成本削減的好處，但這可能要到今年下半年，即第三和第四季度才會發生。這實際上取決於我們需要在接下來的幾個季度中繼續提供多少激勵措施。因此，如果我們繼續看到今年的勢頭，那麼今年下半年肯定有機會擴大利潤率。但我認為我們必須拭目以待，看看下一兩個季度的情況如何。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Alex Barrón from Housing Research Center.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自住房研究中心的 Alex Barrón。

Yes. I was hoping you could kind of give us the path ahead for the Texas region. Right now, I don't see in backlog, but I do see over 1,000 lots. I'm kind of curious if you guys can talk about what that's going to look like, what kind of price points. I think in the past, you were in the $800,000 to million-plus range, but I'm wondering if that's going to change. Just any color on what we should expect in terms of some type of run rate, whether it's later this year or next year, just to get an idea of where you guys are going.

是的。我希望您能為我們指明德克薩斯地區的前進道路。現在，我沒有看到積壓，但我確實看到了 1,000 多個批次。我很好奇你們是否可以談談這會是什麼樣子，什麼樣的價格點。我想在過去，你的收入在 80 萬美元到 100 萬美元以上，但我想知道這是否會改變。無論是今年晚些時候還是明年，就某種類型的運行率而言，我們應該期待什麼顏色，只是為了了解你們的發展方向。

Sure. That's our community and -- it's Mike Forson, by the way. Thanks for the question. That is our community in Kyle called Anthem. You're right. It's close to about 1,000 lots. But what we have there is a full spectrum of product offering. From entry level to first-time move up. The price points will be within the 4s to the 6s roughly, sort of maybe straddling a little bit on the other side of that. We're currently in our development stage. Lots should be completed here coming into early summer, and we're looking to go vertical, hopefully, by fall. If all things go well and possibly opening up from sales by the end of the year and then really starting into full production at the community in 2024.

當然。那是我們的社區——順便說一下，這是 Mike Forson。謝謝你的問題。那是我們在 Kyle 的社區，叫做 Anthem。你說得對。它接近大約 1,000 手。但我們所擁有的是全方位的產品供應。從入門級到第一次升級。價格點大致在 4s 到 6s 之間，有點可能跨越另一邊。我們目前正處於開發階段。進入初夏，這裡應該完成很多工作，我們希望在秋天之前實現垂直發展。如果一切順利，可能會在年底前開始銷售，然後在 2024 年真正開始在社區全面投入生產。

Got it. And if it's going full blast, what's the roughly annual units or how many -- if it's not -- if it's one too many, how many different product types are going to be available?

知道了。如果它全力以赴，大約每年的單位是多少，或者有多少——如果不是——如果太多了，將有多少種不同的產品類型可用？

Well, we're going to be running three or four communities at a given time when it's up and running, and so be probably a couple of hundred a year that would be coming out of that collectively, and it will sort of balance itself out depending upon what program is in full swing and what one's coming online, when one's going off-line. So it could range from 150 to about 200.

好吧，當它啟動並運行時，我們將在給定的時間運行三到四個社區，因此每年可能會有幾百個共同產生，它會自我平衡取決於什麼項目正在如火如荼地進行，什麼時候上線，什麼時候下線。所以它的範圍可以從 150 到大約 200。

Got it. And in the current environment, the Fed is still talking about raising interest rates and we kind of saw what that did in fourth quarter. How are you guys thinking about that going forward if rates kind of stay above 7%. How much can you buy down the rate to? Or what's your strategy? How are you guys thinking about it?

知道了。在當前環境下，美聯儲仍在談論加息，我們在第四季度看到了它的表現。如果利率保持在 7% 以上，你們如何看待未來的發展？您可以降價購買多少？或者你的策略是什麼？你們是怎麼想的？

Yes, Alex, this is Chris Porter. We're continuing to buy mortgage rates down into the low 5s, high 4s, and just depends on the size and the time that we are buying those for. Typically, we're buying 45-day chunks, and it seems to be working very, very well. And within our overall margin guidance. And so I think as you see where we guided for the first quarter, that's really kind of priced into that guidance is continuing to have those mortgage rate buydowns in there as part of our packages.

是的，Alex，這是 Chris Porter。我們將繼續購買低至 5s、高 4s 的抵押貸款利率，這取決於我們購買這些利率的規模和時間。通常情況下，我們購買 45 天的塊，它似乎運作得非常非常好。在我們的整體利潤率指導範圍內。所以我認為，正如你所看到的，我們為第一季度提供的指導，這確實在某種程度上反映在該指導中，作為我們一攬子計劃的一部分，繼續將這些抵押貸款利率買下來。

(Operator Instructions) Since there are no further questions, I would like to turn the conference over to John Ho, CEO, for closing comments.

（操作員說明）由於沒有其他問題，我想將會議轉交給首席執行官 John Ho 以徵求閉幕評論。

Thank you, everyone, for joining our call today. We look forward to speaking to you soon at the end of our first quarter.

謝謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。我們期待在第一季度末盡快與您交談。

Thank you. The conference of Landsea Homes Corporation has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。朗詩集團會議現已結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開線路。