M/I Homes Inc (MHO) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the M/I Homes Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Tuesday, October 30, 2024.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 M/I Homes 第三季財報電話會議。此時，所有線路均處於僅監聽模式。演講結束後，我們將進行問答環節。[操作員說明] 此通話錄音時間為 2024 年 10 月 30 日星期二。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Phil Creek. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給菲爾·克里克先生。請繼續。

Thank you. Joining me on the call today is Bob Schottenstein, our CEO and President, and Derek Klutch, President of our Mortgage Company. First, to address regulation fair disclosure, we encourage you to ask any questions regarding issues that you consider material during this call, because we are prohibited from discussing significant non-public items with you directly. And as to forward-looking statements, I want to remind everyone that the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in today’s press release also applies to any comments made during this call. Also, be advised that the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during this call. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Bob.

謝謝。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是我們的執行長兼總裁 Bob Schottenstein 和抵押貸款公司總裁德里克·克拉奇 (Derek Klutch)。首先，為了解決監管公平揭露問題，我們鼓勵您在本次電話會議中提出有關您認為重要的問題的任何問題，因為我們被禁止與您直接討論重要的非公開事項。至於前瞻性陳述，我想提醒大家，今天新聞稿中包含的有關前瞻性陳述的警告性語言也適用於本次電話會議期間發表的任何評論。另請注意，該公司不承擔更新本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述的義務。這樣，我會將電話轉給鮑伯。

Thanks Phil. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. We had a very strong third quarter highlighted by record homes delivered, record revenue and record income. We are particularly pleased with our results given the various macroeconomic headwinds and other challenges our industry faced during the third quarter. A variety of outside factors impacted traffic and demand and led to generally choppy selling conditions throughout the quarter.

謝謝菲爾。早安，感謝您今天加入我們。我們的第三季表現非常強勁，交付量創歷史新高，營收和營收也創歷史新高。考慮到我們的行業在第三季面臨的各種宏觀經濟阻力和其他挑戰，我們對我們的業績感到特別滿意。各種外部因素影響了客流量和需求，並導致整個季度的銷售狀況普遍波動。

We saw a lot of movement in interest rates, initially trending down in anticipation of the Fed 50 basis point rate cut and then for some somewhat unexpectedly going up with mortgage rates hovering in the mid 6% range before rising to just above 7%.

我們看到利率發生了很大的波動，最初由於預期聯準會降息 50 個基點而呈下降趨勢，然後有些出人意料地上升，抵押貸款利率徘徊在 6% 的中間區間，然後升至略高於 7%。

And with Florida representing about 20% of our overall business, we were clearly impacted in the latter part of the quarter in our four Florida markets by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Fortunately for us, our homes held up very well, very little to no damage in any of our communities or certainly nothing significant, but clearly an impact on our operations, the ability to open our sales offices and the impact it had on traffic and demand during the latter part of the quarter.

由於佛羅裡達州約占我們整體業務的 20%，因此本季後半段我們的四個佛羅裡達市場明顯受到颶風海倫和颶風米爾頓的影響。對我們來說幸運的是，我們的房屋狀況良好，我們的任何社區都沒有受到任何損害，或者肯定沒有什麼重大影響，但顯然對我們的運營、開設銷售辦事處的能力以及對交通和需求的影響在本季的後半段。

And then finally, the upcoming presidential election has also had some impact on consumer behavior. We all look forward to that being behind us. Despite all of this, our results stand strong as we executed at a very high level throughout the quarter.

最後，即將到來的總統大選也對消費者行為產生了一些影響。我們都期待著那一天的到來。儘管如此，我們的業績仍然強勁，因為我們整個季度都以非常高的水平執行。

We closed a record 2,271 homes in the quarter, which is 8% better than a year ago. Year-to-date we have closed 6,653 homes, a 9% increase over 2023. Third quarter revenue reached a record $1.1 billion, 9% better than last year, and year-to-date our revenues equal roughly $3.3 billion, an 8% increase over 2023. We sold 2,023 homes during the quarter, slightly better than last year’s third quarter of 2021 homes sold. Year-to-date we have sold 6,825 homes, 7% better than 2023.

本季我們關閉了創紀錄的 2,271 棟房屋，比一年前增加了 8%。今年迄今為止，我們已關閉了 6,653 套房屋，比 2023 年增加了 9%。第三季營收達到創紀錄的 11 億美元，比去年成長 9%，今年迄今我們的營收約為 33 億美元，比 2023 年成長 8%。本季我們售出了 2,023 套房屋，略好於去年的 2021 年第三季售出房屋。今年迄今為止，我們已售出 6,825 套房屋，比 2023 年增長 7%。

Quality of our buyers continues to be very good with average credit scores of around 750 and average down payments slightly above 18%, equaling about a $90,000 down payment per buyer on average.

我們的買家品質仍然非常好，平均信用評分約為 750，平均首付略高於 18%，相當於每位買家的平均首付約為 90,000 美元。

We are really pleased with our income and returns. Pre-tax income for the quarter increased 6% to a record $188.7 million. Year-to-date, our pre-tax income equals $563 million, 20% higher than 2023. Gross margins for the quarter were a third quarter record of 27.1%, 20 basis points better than last year.

我們對我們的收入和回報感到非常滿意。該季度稅前收入成長 6%，達到創紀錄的 1.887 億美元。今年迄今，我們的稅前收入為 5.63 億美元，比 2023 年成長 20%。該季度的毛利率為 27.1%，創下第三季歷史新高，比去年提高了 20 個基點。

Our pre-tax income percentage for the quarter was a very solid 16.5%. Our strong results generated a 20% return on equity with our book value per share now at a record $105, up 20% from a year ago.

我們本季的稅前收入百分比非常穩定，為 16.5%。我們強勁的業績帶來了 20% 的股本回報率，每股帳面價值目前達到創紀錄的 105 美元，比一年前增長 20%。

We continue to promote sales in a very targeted and strategic way using mortgage rate buy downs. About one third of our buyers during the quarter used our rate buy down program and about half of our buyers, during the quarter, purchased our most affordable line of homes, which we call our Smart Series with the balance of our buyers about 50% purchasing our more expensive move-up product. We feel very good about the breadth of our product offering and product mix across our 17 markets.

我們繼續利用抵押貸款利率下調，以非常有針對性和策略性的方式促進銷售。本季約有三分之一的買家使用了我們的利率購買計劃，本季約有一半的買家購買了我們最實惠的房屋系列，我們稱之為智慧系列，其餘買家中約50%購買了我們的房屋我們更昂貴的升級產品。我們對 17 個市場的產品供應和產品組合的廣度感到非常滿意。

As we enter the fourth quarter, we remain on track to open a number of new communities and we are very excited about the many new communities we will be opening in 2025. Our average community count for 2024 will be about 5% higher than 2023. And we expect to further grow our community count in 2025.

進入第四季度，我們仍有望開設許多新社區，我們對 2025 年將開設的許多新社區感到非常興奮。2024 年我們的平均社區數量將比 2023 年增加約 5%。我們預計到 2025 年我們的社區數量將進一步增加。

Our division income contributions in the third quarter were led by Dallas, Columbus, Tampa, Orlando, Chicago and Raleigh.

我們第三季的部門收入貢獻主要來自達拉斯、哥倫布、坦帕、奧蘭多、芝加哥和羅利。

New contracts for the third quarter in our northern region increased by 1%. New contracts in the southern region were flat comparatively to prior year’s third quarter.

北部地區第三季新簽合約成長1%。南部地區的新合約與去年第三季持平。

Our deliveries in the southern region decreased by 7% from a year ago while our deliveries in the northern region increased by 37% from last year. 55% of our deliveries came out of the southern region and the balance of 45% came out of the northern region.

南部地區的交付量較去年同期下降7%，北部地區的交付量較去年同期成長37%。我們的交付量 55% 來自南部地區，其餘 45% 來自北部地區。

Our owned and controlled lot position in the southern region increased by 20%, compared to a year ago and increased by 11% in the northern region compared to last year. 33% of our owned and controlled lots are in the northern region, the other 67% in the southern region. We have an exceptional land position, very strong company wide. We own approximately 24,000 lots which is about a 2.7-year supply. In addition, we control an additional 52,000 lots.

我們在南部地區自有及控股地塊持股較去年同期增加20%，在北部地區較去年增加11%。我們擁有和控制的地塊33%位於北部地區，其餘67%位於南部地區。我們擁有優越的土地地位，整個公司實力雄厚。我們擁有約 24,000 塊土地，供應量約 2.7 年。此外，我們還控制著另外 52,000 手。

With respect to our balance sheet, we ended the third quarter with an all-time record $2.8 billion of equity, a cash balance of $720 million and zero borrowings under our $650 million unsecured revolving credit facility. This resulted in a debt to capital ratio of 20% down from 22% a year ago and a net debt to capital ratio of negative 1%.

就我們的資產負債表而言，第三季結束時，我們的股本達到創紀錄的 28 億美元，現金餘額為 7.2 億美元，6.5 億美元的無擔保循環信貸額度為零借款。這導致債務資本比率從一年前的22%下降到20%，淨債務資本比率為負1%。

As I conclude, let me just state that our balance sheet is in excellent shape and that we are in the best financial condition in our history. We feel really good about our business and our prospects for continued growth and success as we look to 2025 and beyond. M/I Homes is very well positioned to have another year of strong results in 2024.

最後，我只想指出，我們的資產負債表狀況良好，並且我們處於歷史上最好的財務狀況。展望 2025 年及以後，我們對我們的業務以及持續成長和成功的前景感到非常滿意。M/I Homes 完全有能力在 2024 年再創強勁業績。

With that, I will turn it over to Phil.

這樣，我就把它交給菲爾了。

Thanks Bob.

謝謝鮑勃。

As far as financial results, our new contracts were flat with last year. They were down 5% in July, up 2% in August and up 3% in September. And our cancellation rate for the quarter was 10%. 50% of our third quarter sales were to first-time buyers and 60% were inventory homes.

就財務業績而言，我們的新合約與去年持平。7 月下跌 5%，8 月上漲 2%，9 月上漲 3%。本季我們的取消率為 10%。我們第三季銷售額的 50% 是針對首次購屋者，60% 是庫存房屋。

Our community count was 217 at the end of the quarter compared to 204 a year ago. The breakdown by region is 88 in the northern region and 129 in the southern region. During the quarter we opened 19 new communities, while closing 13. And we currently estimate that our average 2024 community count will be about 5% higher than last year.

截至本季末，我們的社區數量為 217 個，而一年前為 204 個。按地區劃分，北部地區為88個，南部地區為129個。本季我們開設了 19 個新社區，同時關閉了 13 個。我們目前估計，2024 年的平均社區數量將比去年增加約 5%。

We delivered 2,271 homes in the third quarter, delivering 66% of our backlog. And at September 30, we had 5,100 homes in the field versus 4,600 homes in the field a year ago, up 9%.

第三季我們交付了 2,271 間房屋，佔積壓訂單的 66%。截至 9 月 30 日，我們有 5,100 套房屋在售，比一年前的 4,600 套房屋增加了 9%。

Revenue increased 9% in the third quarter and our average closing price for the third quarter was $489,000, a 2% increase compared to last year’s third quarter average closing price of $481,000.

第三季營收成長 9%，第三季平均收盤價為 489,000 美元，比去年第三季平均收盤價 481,000 美元成長 2%。

Our third quarter gross margin was a third quarter record 27.1%, up 20 basis points year-to-year.

我們第三季的毛利率達到創紀錄的 27.1%，年增 20 個基點。

Compared to this year’s second quarter, our construction costs were flat, and our cycle time improved slightly.

與今年第二季相比，我們的建築成本持平，週期時間略有改善。

Our third quarter SG&A expenses were $11.2 million of revenue compared to $10.5 million a year ago. Our increased costs were due to our increased community count, additional headcount, and higher selling expenses. And our interest income net of interest expense for the quarter was $6.7 million. Our interest incurred was $8.8 million. We are very pleased with our returns for the quarter.

我們第三季的 SG&A 支出為收入 1,120 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,050 萬美元。我們的成本增加是由於社區數量增加、員工人數增加以及銷售費用增加。本季扣除利息支出後的利息收入為 670 萬美元。我們產生的利息為 880 萬美元。我們對本季的回報感到非常滿意。

Our pre-tax income was 17% and our return on equity was 20%. During the quarter, we generated $198 million of EBITDA, compared to $185 million in last year’s third quarter and our effective tax rate was 23% in the third quarter, the same as last year’s third quarter. Our earnings per diluted share for the quarter increased to our third quarter record $5.10 per share from $4.82 per share last year, up 6% and our book value per share is now $105, a $17 per share increase from a year ago.

我們的稅前收入為 17%，股本回報率為 20%。本季度，我們實現了 1.98 億美元的 EBITDA，而去年第三季為 1.85 億美元，第三季的有效稅率為 23%，與去年第三季相同。本季我們的每股攤薄收益從去年的每股 4.82 美元增至第三季創紀錄的每股 5.10 美元，成長 6%，每股帳面價值目前為 105 美元，比去年同期成長 17 美元。

Now Derek Klutch will address our mortgage company results.

現在德里克·克拉奇將討論我們的抵押貸款公司的業績。

Thanks Phil. Our mortgage and title operations achieved pre-tax income of $12.9 million, an increase of 31% from $9.9 million in 2023’s third quarter. Revenue increased 27% from last year to a third quarter record of $30 million due to higher margins on loans sold, an increase in loans originated and a higher average loan amount. The average loan to value on our first mortgages for the third quarter was 82%, same as last year.

謝謝菲爾。我們的抵押貸款和產權業務實現稅前收入 1,290 萬美元，比 2023 年第三季的 990 萬美元增長 31%。由於銷售貸款利潤率提高、發放貸款增加以及平均貸款金額增加，第三季營收較去年增長 27%，達到創紀錄的 3,000 萬美元。第三季我們第一筆抵押貸款的平均貸款價值率為 82%，與去年相同。

We continue to see an increase in the use of government financing as 66% of the loans closed in the quarter were conventional and 34% FHA or VA, compared to 72% and 28% respectively for 2023’s third quarter.

我們繼續看到政府融資的使用增加，因為本季結清的貸款中有 66% 是常規貸款，34% 是 FHA 或 VA，而 2023 年第三季分別為 72% 和 28%。

Our average mortgage amount increased to $403,000 in 2024’s third quarter, compared to $394,000 last year.

2024 年第三季度，我們的平均抵押貸款金額增至 403,000 美元，而去年為 394,000 美元。

Loans originated increased to 1,695 loans which was up 15% from last year, while the volume of loans sold increased by 20%. Our borrower profile remains solid with an average down payment of over 18% and an average credit score of 750 compared to 748 in 2023’s third quarter. Finally, our mortgage operation captured 89% of our business in the third quarter and this was up from 86% last year.

發放的貸款增加至 1,695 筆，比去年增加 15%，而銷售的貸款數量增加 20%。我們的借款人狀況依然穩定，平均首付超過 18%，平均信用評分為 750，而 2023 年第三季為 748。最後，我們的抵押貸款業務在第三季佔據了我們業務的 89%，高於去年的 86%。

Now I’ll turn the call back over to Phil.

現在我將把電話轉回菲爾。

Thanks Derek. As for the balance sheet, we ended the third quarter with a cash balance of $720 million and no borrowings under our unsecured revolving credit facility. We have one of the lowest debt levels of the public home builders and are well positioned with our maturities. Our bank line matures in late 2026 and our public debt matures in 2028 and 2030 and has interest rates below 5%.

謝謝德里克。至於資產負債表，第三季末我們的現金餘額為 7.2 億美元，無擔保循環信貸額度下沒有借款。我們是公共住宅建築商中債務水平最低的企業之一，並且在到期日方面處於有利地位。我們的銀行信貸額度將於 2026 年底到期，公共債務將於 2028 年和 2030 年到期，利率低於 5%。

Our unsold land investment at quarter-end is $1.6 billion, compared to $1.3 billion a year ago. And at quarter-end, we had $813 million of raw land and land under development and $745 million of finished unsold lots.

截至季末，我們的未售出土地投資為 16 億美元，而去年同期為 13 億美元。截至季末，我們擁有價值 8.13 億美元的未開發土地和正在開發的土地，以及價值 7.45 億美元的已完工未售土地。

During 2024’s third quarter, we spent $139 million on land purchases and $181 million on land development for a total of $319 million. And at quarter-end, we owned 24,000 lots and controlled 52,000 lots. At the end of the quarter, we had 555 completed inventory homes and 2,375 total inventory homes.

2024 年第三季度，我們在土地購買上花費了 1.39 億美元，在土地開發上花費了 1.81 億美元，總計 3.19 億美元。截至季末，我們擁有 24,000 手並控制 52,000 手。截至本季末，我們擁有 555 套已竣工庫存房屋，以及 2,375 套庫存房屋。

And of the total inventory, 890 are in the northern region and 1,485 are in the southern region. At 9/30/23 we had 414 completed inventory homes and 2,021 total inventory homes. We spent $50 million in the third quarter repurchasing our stock and have $157 million remaining under our current board authorization. Since the start of 2022, we have repurchased 13% of our outstanding shares.

其中，北部地區890輛，南部地區1485輛。截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日，我們擁有 414 套已竣工庫存房屋，總計 2,021 套庫存房屋。我們在第三季花了 5,000 萬美元回購股票，目前董事會授權還剩 1.57 億美元。自 2022 年初以來，我們已回購了 13% 的流通股。

This completes our presentation. We’ll now open the call for any questions or comments.

我們的演示到此結束。我們現在將開始電話詢問任何問題或意見。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，我們現在開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions).

（操作員說明）。

Alan Ratner, Zelman.

艾倫拉特納、澤爾曼。

Hey guys, good morning. Nice quarter. Congrats on the strong results.

嘿夥計們，早安。不錯的季度。祝賀取得強勁的成果。

Thanks Allen.

謝謝艾倫。

Bob, I’d love to just pick your brain a little bit on what you’re seeing across price points in your footprint. I know so much of your growth over the last few years has come via the Smart Series and the entry level and the strong demand there. It seems like the commentary from other builders recently has been that the choppiness we’ve seen of late is maybe more so at the entry level given kind of the volatility in rates, affordability constraints.

鮑勃，我很想聽聽您的想法，了解一下您在足跡中所看到的跨價格點的情況。我知道過去幾年你們的成長很大程度上來自於智慧系列和入門級產品以及那裡的強勁需求。其他建築商最近的評論似乎是，考慮到利率的波動和承受能力的限制，我們最近看到的波動可能在入門級更是如此。

And I know you guys are diversified across multiple price points. So, I’m just Curious if you’re seeing notable differences there and whether as you think about the upcoming spring selling season, if you’re thinking about positioning your company towards growth and outsized growth in one price point versus another.

我知道你們在多個價位上都多元化。因此，我只是好奇您是否看到了顯著的差異，以及當您考慮即將到來的春季銷售季節時，您是否正在考慮將您的公司定位為在一個價格點與另一個價格點相比實現增長和超額成長。

Great question. I think that I agree with a lot of what you said. I think that the affordability issues are real. I think that I’m really pleased that we have such a strong product offering that extends beyond what we call our Smart Series, look our sales were basically flat. We sold one or two more homes in the third quarter than we did a year ago. Half of them were Smart Series, half were move-up. So, I’m glad we have both.

很好的問題。我想我同意你所說的很多內容。我認為負擔能力問題是真實存在的。我認為我真的很高興我們擁有如此強大的產品系列，超出了我們所謂的智慧系列，看起來我們的銷售基本上持平。第三季我們賣出的房屋比一年前多了一、兩套。其中一半是智慧系列，一半是升級系列。所以，我很高興我們兩者都有。

I think that the first-time buyer and the more affordably priced product will continue to be -- there may be some intricate quarter or throughout the year choppiness, but I think it’s going to continue to be a big part of our business, hovering around this 50% range, might it get a little larger, yes, sure. We’re doing a lot more attached town homes which is meeting the buyer at a more affordable price point.

我認為首次購買者和價格更實惠的產品將繼續存在——可能會出現一些複雜的季度或全年波動，但我認為這將繼續成為我們業務的重要組成部分，徘徊在這個50% 的範圍內，它可能會變得更大一點，是的，當然。我們正在建造更多的聯排別墅，以更實惠的價格滿足買家的需求。

We’re doing a lot more of that than we used to. It’s approaching about 20% of our business, some markets even higher. But long term, I could not be more bullish about the industry. I think it’s really smart for us to have the full array of product offering. We don’t have any strategic shift planned.

我們在這方面所做的工作比以前多得多。它接近我們業務的 20% 左右，有些市場甚至更高。但從長遠來看，我對這個行業非常看好。我認為擁有全套產品對我們來說非常明智。我們沒有任何策略轉變計劃。

We like where we are. We like our position, really excited about our land position. We’ve grown community count this year. We expect to grow community count next year and beyond. We’re looking to continue to grow the business as we’ve said throughout every single call over the last number of years.

我們喜歡我們現在所處的位置。我們喜歡我們的位置，對我們的土地位置感到非常興奮。今年我們增加了社區數量。我們預計明年及以後社區數量將會增加。正如我們在過去幾年的每一次電話會議中所說的那樣，我們希望繼續發展業務。

There’s a lot of stuff going on right now. There’s a lot of noise. I think that’s been the common theme of every builder call and it’s because it’s the way it is. But conditions are not bad. Record returns, record profit, decent sales, strong closings, recently we’ve seen a pickup in traffic. It’s just very hard to draw any clear conclusion as to where we are at a moment in time.

現在有很多事情正在發生。有很多噪音。我認為這是每個建築商電話的共同主題，因為事情就是這樣。但條件也不錯。創紀錄的回報、創紀錄的利潤、可觀的銷售額、強勁的成交量，最近我們看到客流量回升。對於我們目前所處的位置，很難得出任何明確的結論。

I think all of us are looking forward to getting this election behind us. It’s been quite challenging for a lot of pieces and parts of our economy, and I think it is impacting consumer behavior. The impact that the hurricanes had in our operations, and as I said, Florida is about 20% plus or minus of our total business. And we have very strong operations in Tampa, Orlando and Sarasota and we’re just getting started and have really high hopes for our Fort Myers and Naples operation.

我想我們所有人都期待著這次選舉的到來。這對我們經濟的許多方面來說都是相當具有挑戰性的，而且我認為它正在影響消費者的行為。颶風對我們業務的影響，正如我所說，佛羅裡達州約占我們總業務的 20% 左右。我們在坦帕、奧蘭多和薩拉索塔擁有非常強大的業務，我們才剛起步，對邁爾斯堡和那不勒斯的業務抱有很高的期望。

From a damage standpoint, we were very fortunate. Our houses held up exceptionally well. And while we did have some damages, some damage to our communities, it was not material and thank God, there was no loss of life or anything like that. But we were basically closed in Tampa and Orlando for almost two weeks and not many people were out shopping and that had an impact on how strongly we closed the month out from a sales and closing standpoint.

從損失的角度來看，我們非常幸運。我們的房子保存得非常好。雖然我們確實遭受了一些損失，對我們的社區造成了一些損失，但這並不是物質上的損失，感謝上帝，沒有造成人員傷亡或類似情況。但我們在坦帕和奧蘭多基本上關閉了近兩週，沒有多少人出去購物，這對我們從銷售和結帳的角度來看本月的收盤力度產生了影響。

We dropped about 20 closings in Florida that would have closed in the third quarter. Those deals did not cancel. They’re closing this month. But, so long answer to a complicated question, I’m really optimistic about the spring selling season. We’ll know it when it comes. We’re prepared for it. We expect to grow the business next year. We expect the Smart Series to continue to be strong, but we have a lot of move-up communities coming on next year too.

我們在佛羅裡達州減少了大約 20 個本應在第三季關閉的項目。這些交易並沒有取消。他們本月就要關門了。但是，對於一個複雜問題的答案這麼長，我對春季銷售季節非常樂觀。當它到來時我們就會知道。我們已做好準備。我們預計明年業務將會成長。我們預計智慧系列將持續強勁，但明年我們也將推出許多升級社群。

I don’t think we’re heavily weighted on any one end of the product spectrum. I feel really good about the way the mix is lined up and I think it’s helping us from a sales standpoint right now. I think comparatively speaking, our sales look quite good compared to our peers. And without the move-up product, I don’t think they would have looked as good just in the recent quarter. So, I think the underlying premise of your question is correct. But I think we have a chance to finish out the year in really good shape.

我不認為我們在產品範圍的任何一端都佔有很大的比重。我對這種組合的排列方式感覺非常好，我認為它現在從銷售的角度來看對我們有幫助。我覺得相對來說，我們的銷售量和同業相比還是相當不錯的。如果沒有升級產品，我認為它們在最近一個季度的表現不會那麼好。所以，我認為你問題的基本前提是正確的。但我認為我們有機會以良好的狀態結束這一年。

Last year, the fourth quarter sales were sort of limped to the finish line. I think a lot of our peers limped with us. And I think we have a little bit more momentum right now than we did a year ago right now. And look, we were promoting with three and seven, eights (3.7/8%) for FHA mortgage and four, seven, eights (4 7/8%) conventional. About a third of our buyers took that product during the third quarter. We’re now promoting with rates in the upper fours (4%) on the FHA side and upper fives (5%) on the conventional side with the opportunity for buy downs, 2-1 buy downs and so forth. And we’re going to continue to do that as necessary. It’s very targeted. I think we’re very strategic about it, but it is clearly driving traffic right now across the industry and that looks like it’s going to continue for the foreseeable future.

去年，第四季的銷售額有點勉強達到終點。我想我們的很多同齡人都和我們一樣跛行。我認為我們現在比一年前有更多的動力。看，我們以三和七、八 (3.7/8%) 的聯邦住房管理局抵押貸款和四、七、八 (4 7/8%) 的傳統方式進行宣傳。大約三分之一的買家在第三季購買了該產品。我們現在在 FHA 方面以上四 (4%) 的利率進行促銷，在傳統方面以上五 (5%) 的利率進行促銷，並有機會購買減價、2-1 減價等。我們將根據需要繼續這樣做。它非常有針對性。我認為我們對此非常具有戰略意義，但它顯然正在推動整個產業的流量，而且看起來在可預見的未來它將持續下去。

Thank you for that very comprehensive answer, Bob. I appreciate all the thoughts and I agree that the diversification price point gives you a lot of optionality to kind of flex wherever the market goes. I have a follow-up on kind of the last point you brought up on the rate buy downs that’s kind of where I was going to go next. And I know you don’t guide for gross margin, but your margins have been very solid and stable really for the last year, year and a half, kind of in this 25% plus range.

謝謝你非常全面的回答，鮑伯。我很欣賞所有的想法，並且我同意多元化的價格點為您提供了許多選擇，無論市場走向何方，都可以靈活選擇。我對您提出的關於利率買入下調的最後一點進行了跟進，這就是我接下來要討論的問題。我知道你們沒有指導毛利率，但你們的利潤率在過去一年、一年半里一直非常穩固和穩定，大約在 25% 以上的範圍內。

And it seems like incentives are picking up across the industry, rate buydowns are perhaps becoming a little bit more expensive in the near-term just given the volatility in rates. So, given the magnitude of rate buydowns you’re offering, should we expect a little bit of pressure to your margin over the next quarter or two? Or would you say what you’re offering right now is kind of pretty consistent with what you’ve been offering for the last several quarters?

整個行業的激勵措施似乎正在增強，考慮到利率的波動，短期內利率購買可能會變得更昂貴。那麼，考慮到您提供的利率下調幅度，我們是否應該預期您的利潤率在接下來的一兩個季度會受到一些壓力？或者您會說您現在提供的產品與過去幾季提供的產品非常一致？

That’s a really hard question to answer, but I do think I want to be really careful with how I say this, because you’re somewhat rewarded on the way up and then you’re harshly penalized on the way down. I guess, that’s the way life is. Our 27% gross margins and 17% pre-tax margin sustainable long-term, I don’t think so. But does that mean we’re going back to 20% and 8% pre-tax margins? No, I don’t think that either. I think there could be some slight downward pressure. How much remains to be seen? We have a number of communities throughout our footprint that are running 30% plus gross margins right now even with the rate buy down.

這是一個很難回答的問題，但我確實認為我要非常小心地說出這個問題，因為你在上升的過程中會得到一些獎勵，然後在下降的過程中你會受到嚴厲的懲罰。我想，生活就是這樣。我不這麼認為，我們 27% 的毛利率和 17% 的稅前利潤率是可持續的。但這是否意味著我們要回到 20% 和 8% 的稅前利潤率？不，我也不這麼認為。我認為可能會有一些輕微的下行壓力。還有多少有待觀察？我們的足跡遍佈許多社區，即使價格下調，目前毛利率仍高達 30% 以上。

So, a lot of it’s going to be mix dependent. We don’t – we price on a per community basis within every market that we’re in. We’re very focused on that. We have communities that are in the low-20s right now, because that’s what it takes to sell houses. But we have a lot more that are in the upper-20s and as I said, a number in the low-30s. We’ll just have to see, I mean, I think there could be some slight downward pressure, but I expect us to continue to produce very strong returns and we’re going to do what we can. You can only sell a home once and I mean, none of us want to fall on the sword for margins because you got to sell homes. But I think that our margins will continue to stand comparatively tall in comparison to our peers, because they have and I think they’ll continue to. We talk a lot about that with our leaders, our division leaders and so forth.

因此，其中許多都取決於混合。我們不這樣做——我們在我們所在的每個市場中根據每個社區進行定價。我們非常關注這一點。我們現在有一些社區的房價在 20 歲以下，因為這就是出售房屋所需的條件。但我們還有很多 20 多歲的人，正如我所說，還有 30 多歲的人。我的意思是，我認為可能會出現一些輕微的下行壓力，但我預計我們將繼續產生非常強勁的回報，並且我們將盡力而為。你只能賣一次房子，我的意思是，我們誰都不想因為你必須賣房子而為了利潤而陷入困境。但我認為，與同行相比，我們的利潤率將繼續保持在較高水平，因為他們已經做到了，而且我認為他們將繼續保持在這個水平。我們與我們的領導、部門領導等討論了很多這個問題。

In fact, it’s one of the most talked about topics. But we’re going to see, I mean, no one really knows what’s going to happen with rates. If rates do start to come down even a little bit and there’s less need for buy downs that will provide margin lift or at least avoid margin decline. So, we’ll just – it’s a very hard question, but the builders have been posting pretty strong margins for quite some time and we’re likely to see some decline. I read Horton’s commentary. I think they’re expecting it. We’ll see. I mean, we may see a little decline. I don’t think it’s going to be significant.

事實上，這是最受關注的話題之一。但我的意思是，我們將會看到，沒有人真正知道利率會發生什麼事。如果利率確實開始下降，即使只是一點點，那麼買入的需求就會減少，這將提高利潤率，或至少避免利潤率下降。所以，我們只是——這是一個非常困難的問題，但建築商在相當長的一段時間裡一直保持著相當高的利潤率，我們很可能會看到一些下降。我讀了霍頓的評論。我認為他們正在期待這一點。我們拭目以待。我的意思是，我們可能會看到一點下降。我認為這不會有什麼重大意義。

Great. I appreciate that, Bob, and it wouldn’t be any fun if I asked the easy question. So thanks for the thoughts. Good luck at the year end.

偉大的。我很感激，鮑勃，如果我問這個簡單的問題，那就沒有任何樂趣了。所以謝謝你的想法。祝年底好運。

I expect nothing less from a Michigan man.

我對密西根人的期望絲毫不減。

And I was just about to wish you good luck this weekend. So, good luck at Penn State.

我正想祝你這個週末好運。所以，祝你在賓州州立大學好運。

Thanks, buddy.

謝謝，夥計。

Kenneth Zener, Seaport Research.

肯尼斯‧齊納，海港研究中心。

Good morning, everybody.

大家早安。

Morning.

早晨。

I wonder if you could talk to the percent of closings that were intra quarter orders. I think you might have said 60%, but I wasn’t sure. Just as kind of a housekeeping. And then if you could comment on the margin spread, you’re seeing between those intra quarter closings in your backlog or if you prefer commentary around the Smart Series versus your move-up?

我想知道您是否可以談談季度內訂單的結單百分比。我想你可能會說 60%，但我不確定。就像做家事一樣。然後，如果您可以對利潤差發表評論，您是否會看到積壓訂單中的季度內結帳情況，或者您是否更喜歡圍繞智慧系列而不是升級的評論？

And then related to that, why do you think your margins stand taller than peers given that you have the operational data? Thank you.

與此相關的是，鑑於您擁有營運數​​據，為什麼您認為您的利潤率高於同業？謝謝。

Yeah. As far as the first comment you made, about 40% of our closings basically came from spec houses that sold and closed during the quarter. It’s kind of been that way the last couple of quarters. We do feel really good about our spec levels. In general, our spec levels are a little higher in communities that have attached townhouses and the more affordable Smart Series, as far as a gross profit comparison really hasn’t a whole lot different. Again, as Bob said, it just kind of depends on the communities. Our Smart Series versus our move-up product, we feel very good about the margins on all those product lines.

是的。就您提出的第一則評論而言，我們大約 40% 的成交量基本上來自於本季出售和關閉的投機房屋。過去幾季就是這樣。我們確實對我們的規格水平感到非常滿意。總的來說，我們的規格水平在擁有聯排別墅和更實惠的智慧系列的社區中要高一些，就毛利比較而言確實沒有太大不同。正如鮑勃所說，這再次取決於社區。與我們的升級產品相比，我們的智慧系列產品，我們對所有這些產品線的利潤率感覺非常好。

The other thing I'd say is it sounds a little cliche. I think we have really well-located communities' cities.

我想說的另一件事是，這聽起來有點陳腔濫調。我認為我們的社區城市地理位置優越。

The divisions within our company that are posting the highest margins are some of the most competitive housing markets in the country like Dallas Raleigh, Charlotte, Columbus, Chicago. And I think we've just got some really well-located communities that are generating very strong returns for us.

我們公司利潤率最高的部門是美國一些最具競爭力的房地產市場，如達拉斯羅利、夏洛特、哥倫布、芝加哥。我認為我們剛剛擁有一些地理位置優越的社區，它們為我們帶來了非常豐厚的回報。

Orlando is another one and we hope we can continue it. That’s what we try to do. You talk about main things in business, and it all comes down to execution. But premier locations is a main thing concept within our business and we’re constantly trying to find ways to get those premier locations and not just open up another community.

奧蘭多是另一個，我們希望我們能夠繼續下去。這就是我們努力做的事情。你談論的是業務中的主要事情，而這一切都歸結為執行。但優質地點是我們業務中的一個主要概念，我們不斷嘗試找到獲得這些優質地點的方法，而不僅僅是開闢另一個社區。

Well, it’s clear that (inaudible) is in the numbers. My second question, really appreciate your comments around Florida at 20%. Can you comment on Texas share just to give us a little -- flush that out a little bit? And broadly, do you think the mortgage incentives are pulling forward demand with most new home buyers markets you serve having buy downs prevalent?

嗯，很明顯（聽不清楚）是在數字中。我的第二個問題，非常感謝您對佛羅裡達州 20% 的評論。您能否對德克薩斯州的股票發表評論，以便為我們提供一些資訊？總體而言，您認為抵押貸款激勵措施是否正在拉動需求，因為您所服務的大多數新購房者市場都普遍存在買斷現象？

I’m curious as to your thought, whether that’s actually pulling forward demand at all given the incentive structure. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time

我很好奇你的想法，考慮到激勵結構，這是否真的能拉動需求。非常感謝。珍惜您的時間

Yeah, I don’t have the exact share number – the exact percentage of our business that Texas is right in front of me, but Florida has been about 20% of our business, plus or minus Texas is a little higher than that. And Florida and Texas are huge parts of our business and will continue to be as we look forward, particularly when you consider we’re really just getting started. It’s a brand-new operation for us in Fort Myers and Naples. And what was the second part of the question?

是的，我沒有確切的份額數字- 德克薩斯州就在我面前，占我們業務的確切百分比，但佛羅裡達州約占我們業務的20%，加上或減去德克薩斯州略高於那。佛羅裡達州和德克薩斯州是我們業務的重要組成部分，正如我們所期望的那樣，這將繼續存在，特別是當您認為我們實際上才剛剛起步時。這是我們在邁爾斯堡和那不勒斯的全新業務。問題的第二部分是什麼？

As far as pulling forward demand and those type of things? Our view is if you look at household formations and even though some of the housing inventory levels have increased again, you really have to look at where that inventory is located and the price point and the aging of it.

至於拉動需求之類的事情？我們的觀點是，如果你看看家庭結構，即使一些住房庫存水準再次增加，你確實必須看看這些庫存的位置、價格點和老化情況。

We think the industry is positioned very well and there is a lot of demand out there. Interest rates and payments always matter and you know, you do what you need to do at certain times to help your sales and help your business. As Bob mentioned, our interest rate buydowns are very focused on a subdivision and inventory level situation.

我們認為該行業定位非常好，並且需求很大。利率和付款始終很重要，您知道，您在特定時間做您需要做的事情來幫助您的銷售和業務。正如鮑勃所提到的，我們的利率購買非常關注細分和庫存水平情況。

So, we still feel good about the macroeconomic and the outlook for our industry. It’s just right now with all that’s going on in the marketplace buydowns are kind of the flavor of the time right now.

所以，我們對宏觀經濟和產業前景仍然看好。現在正是市場上發生的一切，買斷是現在的風尚。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Alex Barron, Housing Research Center.

亞歷克斯·巴倫，住房研究中心。

Yeah, thanks gentlemen and, and great job on the quarter.

是的，謝謝先生們，本季的工作非常出色。

Thanks.

謝謝。

I guess my general questions were, what would you say is the average mortgage rate that people in backlog are going into the quarter with right now, given the incentives you guys have been offering?

我想我的一般問題是，考慮到你們一直在提供的激勵措施，你們認為積壓的人們現在進入本季的平均抵押貸款利率是多少？

I mean, that's a really hard, you know, specific type number. You know, we talked about about, you know, a third of the customers are, are getting assistance with those bought down rates. It really depends on the community. I mean, some buyers need some help in closing cost. So every buyer is a little bit different. And again, we target that based on what we need to on a community basis. But as far as an overall rate type thing, that would be a real hard number to come up with. Plus, I'm not sure it's all that meaningful to start with.

我的意思是，這是一個非常困難的特定類型的數字。你知道，我們談過，你知道，三分之一的客戶正在獲得降價購買的幫助。這確實取決於社區。我的意思是，有些買家在成交成本方面需要一些幫助。所以每個買家都有點不同。再說一遍，我們的目標是基於社區的需要。但就整體利率而言，這將是一個很難得出的數字。另外，我不確定一開始就這麼有意義。

Keep in mind, Alex, and I think this is pretty much true across the industry that while the mortgage rate buydowns have been a very powerful, very powerful tool in helping to generate sales, they’re only good for loans or homes, I should say, that can close generally within about 60 days. So, these are not 180 day rate locks, if you will. So, the buyers that take advantage of these, about a third in our case.

請記住，亞歷克斯，我認為整個行業都是如此，雖然抵押貸款利率購買在幫助產生銷售方面是一個非常非常強大的工具，但它們只對貸款或房屋有利，我應該說，一般會在60天內關閉。因此，如果您願意的話，這些不是 180 天的利率鎖定。因此，在我們的案例中，利用這些優勢的買家大約佔三分之一。

In every instance, it’s for a home that’s either been in construction and now getting ready to close or a spec that’s closable within 60 days. So that makes it harder to, because you have a lot of unlocked, if you will, loans in the backlog. Otherwise, it makes it very, very hard to come up with an average.

在每種情況下，它都適用於正在建設中、現在準備關閉的房屋，或者是可在 60 天內關閉的規格。所以這讓事情變得更加困難，因為如果你願意的話，你還有很多未鎖定的貸款積壓。否則，就很難得出平均值。

Got it. What about maybe an average of what the incentives you guys are offering at this point as a percentage of the price, you know, how much would that be?

知道了。你們現在提供的激勵措施佔價格的百分比的平均值怎麼樣，你知道，那會是多少？

Again, Alex, that’s a real difficult number at the end of the day. It flushes through what the gross margin is. And you look at our margins in that 27% range the last few quarters, we’re really pleased with that.

再次強調，亞歷克斯，歸根究底這確實是一個非常困難的數字。它沖刷了毛利率。看看我們過去幾季 27% 的利潤率，我們對此感到非常滿意。

Again, depending on the subdivision, we price in a certain amount for financing, closing costs, et cetera. And we try to be very targeted as far as what does that customer actually need. And our mortgage operation, as Derek says, has about a 90% capture rate. So our mortgage company can work very closely, our loan officers, with those buyers to customize something for them to get what they need to close. And every customer tends to be a little bit different. So you incent whatever you need to. There’s always incentives going on. But bottom line, we feel very good about our margins and our returns.

同樣，根據細分，我們為融資、成交成本等定價一定金額。我們嘗試非常有針對性地了解客戶的實際需求。正如德里克所說，我們的抵押貸款業務的捕獲率約為 90%。因此，我們的抵押貸款公司、我們的信貸員可以與這些買家密切合作，為他們量身定制一些東西，以獲得他們需要關閉的東西。每個客戶往往都有點不同。所以你可以激勵任何你需要的東西。激勵措施始終存在。但最重要的是，我們對我們的利潤率和回報感到非常滿意。

Yeah. No doubt. They've been, they've been great. What about on the corporate G&A, Phil? That was $68 million this quarter?

是的。無疑。他們曾經，他們都很棒。Phil，公司的一般行政費用怎麼樣？本季為 6800 萬美元？

Kind of a step up versus the last two quarters?

與過去兩個季度相比，是否有所進步？

Is that a one-time nature to those numbers or is that kind of like the new run rate?

這些數字是一次性的還是類似於新的運行率？

As I said, our SG&A numbers are up for a couple of different reasons. We do have about 10% more people companywide affecting all the divisions and so forth. We do have about 6%, 7% more stores. We are doing more things at a corporate marketing level as far as to help us sell houses. Also our incentive compensation is up due to our improved returns. So, it’s a number of things in there. And as Bob said, we also plan on continuing our growth. So, it’s hard to project out what those numbers are. And again, we don’t get into those type of things, but we feel like we’re continuing to position the company very well for continued growth.

正如我所說，我們的 SG&A 數字上升有幾個不同的原因。我們公司確實多了大約 10% 的人員來影響所有部門等等。我們確實多了大約 6%、7% 的商店。我們在企業行銷層面做了更多的事情來幫助我們賣房子。此外，由於我們的回報率提高，我們的激勵薪酬也有所提高。所以，裡面有很多東西。正如鮑勃所說，我們還計劃繼續增長。因此，很難預測這些數字是多少。再說一遍，我們不會涉及這類事情，但我們覺得我們將繼續為公司的持續成長做好準備。

Got it. Okay, I'll get back in the queue. Thank you.

知道了。好的，我會回到隊列中。謝謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Buck Horne, Raymond James.

巴克·霍恩，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

I wanted to go back to Florida just for a second and the hurricane impacts. First of all, very good news to hear that things held up really well and no serious damages. But should we think about any lingering impacts from. I mean maybe Milton more so in October, just lingering impacts on, order activity or closings in the fourth quarter just due to the lost selling days and or lost construction time?

我想回到佛羅裡達州看看颶風的影響。首先，這是一個非常好的消息，事情進展順利，沒有造成嚴重損害。但我們是否應該考慮任何揮之不去的影響。我的意思是，也許米爾頓十月份的情況更是如此，只是由於銷售天數的損失和/或施工時間的損失，對第四季度的訂單活動或關閉產生了揮之不去的影響？

I think from a delivery, it's a good question. Buck, I think from a delivery standpoint.

我認為從交付來看，這是一個很好的問題。巴克，我認為從交貨的角度來看。

I don't think so. I think that that's behind us. In terms of demand, I don't think much impact in Orlando in the fourth quarter. We have such a small operation in Fort Myers Naples. It wouldn't be material anyway. That's a relatively brand new market for us. The question is really Tampa Sarasota and frankly, Sarasota was probably hit the hardest of any of the 44 Florida markets by Milton. Could be slight. I'm not going to say it won't be anything. I think the psyche of folks living in those two cities. Every day they're reminded of what happened.

我不這麼認為。我認為那是在我們身後。就需求而言，我認為第四季奧蘭多不會受到太大影響。我們在那不勒斯邁爾斯堡有一家小型工廠。無論如何，這不會是物質的。這對我們來說是一個相對全新的市場。問題實際上是坦帕薩拉索塔，坦白說，薩拉索塔可能是佛羅裡達州 44 個市場中受到米爾頓打擊最嚴重的。可能是輕微的。我不會說這不會有什麼。我認為生活在這兩個城市的人們的心理。他們每天都會想起發生過的事情。

I mean, street after street after street, in particularly older communities where there’s still stuff that’s not yet cleaned up could remain that way for a number of months. But I will say this. I think that the fact that new home construction throughout, and this is true of every builder I know of that does business in Florida, new home construction really held up well and proved its value and thank goodness for that.

我的意思是，一條又一條街道，特別是在一些較老的社區，那裡仍然有尚未清理的東西，這種情況可能會持續幾個月。但我會這麼說。我認為，事實上，新住宅建設貫穿始終，對於我所知道的在佛羅裡達州開展業務的每家建築商來說都是如此，新住宅建設確實表現良好，並證明了其價值，謝天謝地。

And I think that, we, Tampa has been one of our best markets for as long as we’ve been there, going all the way back to the early 1980s. And we’re very bullish about Tampa long term, really even though we’ve only been open in Sarasota for about four or five years, it’s become a significant contributor for the company and we’re really bullish about it long term. There could be a little noise here in the fourth quarter, but I don’t think it’ll be material.

我認為，自 20 世紀 80 年代初以來，坦帕一直是我們最好的市場之一。我們非常看好坦帕的長期發展，儘管我們在薩拉索塔只開業了四到五年左右，但它已經成為公司的重要貢獻者，我們非常看好從長遠來看。第四季可能會出現一些噪音，但我認為這不會是實質的。

Buck, one of the things you’re always concerned about is power. In that there was pretty big hits to the power system. So, company-wide we develop about 80% of our own land. So, making sure you continue to get power hookups not just for new houses coming short term, but transformers and those type of things in those communities. So, you’re always concerned a little bit about that. But again, we try to stay on top of those things as best we can.

巴克，你一直關心的事情之一就是權力。電力系統受到了相當大的打擊。因此，在全公司範圍內，我們開發了約 80% 的自有土地。因此，請確保您繼續獲得電源連接，不僅為短期內的新房提供電源連接，還為這些社區中的變壓器和此類設備提供電源連接。所以，你總是對此有點擔心。但同樣，我們會盡力掌控這些事。

That’s great color guys. And yes, we certainly appreciate your support for staying with Tampa and Sarasota long term and we see those. I think you’re exactly right in terms of the psyche impact and the cleanup efforts. Real quick, a follow-up on that is insurance. Have you seen any impact from insurance carriers or is there any changes in terms of the cost of getting property insurance post hurricane for your buyers or how the retail markets are indicating or acting?

那是很棒的色彩傢伙。是的，我們當然感謝您長期留在坦帕和薩拉索塔的支持，我們看到了這些。我認為就心理影響和清理工作而言，你是完全正確的。很快，後續就是保險。您是否看到了保險公司的任何影響，或者您的買家在颶風後獲得財產保險的成本是否有任何變化，或者零售市場的表現或表現如何？

Another really good question. I think it’s too soon to know, but I doubt if it’s going down. It’s going to become more expensive. It just has to, right? I would not want to be in that business, but I guess indirectly we’re somewhat dependent upon that business. So that’ll be something that we closely watch. I don’t have any insight into that at this point. I’ve chatted about that with other leaders in our industry and I don’t think anybody quite knows yet other than it’s likely to go up.

另一個非常好的問題。我認為現在下結論還為時過早，但我懷疑它是否會下降。它將變得更加昂貴。它只是必須的，對吧？我不想從事這項業務，但我想我們間接地在某種程度上依賴這項業務。因此，這將是我們密切關注的事情。目前我對此還沒有任何見解。我已經與我們行業的其他領導者討論過這個問題，我認為除了它可能會上漲之外，沒有人完全了解這一點。

Got you. And one last question, if I can dig in.

明白你了。最後一個問題，我是否可以深入探討。

The question is whether the insurance industry will give appropriate credit to the strength of new home construction because the damage to new homes was extraordinarily low. When you take into account the severity of the storm and the unprecedented nature of it, that I don’t think we know the answer to.

問題是，由於新房的損失極低，保險業是否會對新房建設的實力給予適當的認可。當你考慮到風暴的嚴重性和前所未有的本質時，我認為我們不知道答案。

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And just real quick, you mentioned traffic levels seem to show a recent uptick here. I was just wondering if you could elaborate that and just what kind of indications you’re seeing in terms of pent up demand out there?

是的，這很有意義。很快，您提到這裡的流量水平似乎最近有所上升。我只是想知道您能否詳細說明一下，以及您在被壓抑的需求方面看到了哪些跡象？

I don’t think I can elaborate anymore because I don’t know how much pent-up demand there is. This is the slowest time of the year. The fourth quarter, year in, year out, even when things aren’t encumbered with all this election stuff and everything else, the fourth quarter is the slowest quarter of the year, the last three months of the year. And so this is generally not a time for robust demand and robust sales. Having said that, we’ve seen traffic begin to pick up here in the last two to three weeks, which is encouraging given the time of year. I don’t think we’re alone in this last year’s fourth quarter sales. As I said before, I think most of us in the industry limped to the finish line. I think we have a chance to not quite limp so much this year. I think it will be better.

我想我無法再詳細說明了，因為我不知道有多少被壓抑的需求。這是一年中最慢的時候。第四季度，年復一年，即使事情沒有受到所有這些選舉問題和其他事情的困擾，第四季度也是一年中最慢的季度，一年中的最後三個月。因此，這通常不是需求強勁和銷售強勁的時期。話雖如此，我們已經看到這裡的交通量在過去兩到三週內開始回升，考慮到一年中的這個時間，這是令人鼓舞的。我認為去年第四季的銷售額我們並不孤單。正如我之前所說，我認為業內大多數人都是一瘸一拐地到達終點線的人。我認為今年我們有機會不那麼跛行。我想會更好。

Thanks for the color guys. Good luck.

謝謝各位的顏色。祝你好運。

Thanks Buck.

謝謝巴克。

[Operator Instructions]

【操作說明】

Jay McCanless, Wedbush.

傑伊·麥卡利斯，韋德布希。

Hey, good morning, everyone.

嘿，大家早安。

Hi, Jay.

嗨，傑伊。

I guess Phil, we could dig in a little more into what actually happened with the sales mix this quarter to hit that really solid gross margin?

我想菲爾，我們可以更深入地了解本季銷售組合的實際情況，以達到真正可靠的毛利率？

As far as what happened each month of the quarter as we went through?

至於我們經歷的季度每個月發生了什麼事？

Well, or was it a heavier mix it’s certain --.

嗯，或者是更重的混合——這是肯定的--.

Our sales panels little bit (inaudible) and they improved as the quarter went on Jay.

我們的銷售小組有一點點（聽不清楚），隨著季度的進展，傑伊的情況有所改善。

Okay. And I guess it kind of falls into my next question. What with rates going up but now you’re saying traffic’s looking better? Bob, I guess how has October played out, especially given some of the higher rates that we’ve seen?

好的。我想這屬於我的下一個問題。費率上漲但現在您說交通狀況看起來更好了怎麼辦？鮑勃，我想十月份的情況如何，特別是考慮到我們已經看到的一些較高的利率？

Well, we normally don’t talk about the current month, but I think October is playing out better than expected. Let me just say that.

好吧，我們通常不會談論當前的月份，但我認為 10 月的情況比預期要好。我就這麼說吧。

We've also, we’ve been pleased. They’ve actually performed better than we thought. Our new stores that have been opening and that’s a really big number. Of course, last year we opened like 75 new stores. We grew average community count last year, 7% or 8%, and this year we’re going to be in that ballpark again. So, the performance of your new stores really, really matter.

我們也很高興。他們的表現其實比我們想像的還要好。我們的新店已經開業，這是一個非常大的數字。當然，去年我們新開了 75 家店。去年我們的平均社區數量增加了 7% 或 8%，今年我們將再次達到這個水平。因此，新店的業績真的非常重要。

Also, as Bob mentioned, I mean, we have been opening half or whatever of move up type operations. We really like product and price diversification and especially some of those move up communities we’ve opened have done very well. So again, that’s helped us also.

另外，正如鮑勃所提到的，我的意思是，我們已經開放了一半或任何向上移動類型的操作。我們真的很喜歡產品和價格的多樣化，尤其是我們開設的一些升級社區做得非常好。同樣，這也對我們有幫助。

That’s great, Phil. And then one other thing, everybody’s been talking about the election, but what we’ve heard from some of your other public competitors in the new housing space is that some people are actually waiting to see if this credit develops or materializes.

太好了，菲爾。還有一件事，每個人都在談論選舉，但我們從新住房領域的其他一些公共競爭對手那裡聽到的是，有些人實際上在等著看這種信貸是否會發展或實現。

That I know the democrats have talked about. I’m not sure where the republicans are on this issue. But is that something that you’re hearing in the field, that people are kind of waiting to see whether credit materializes or not before they go forward with their purchase?

我知道民主黨人已經談論過這一點。我不確定共和黨人在這個問題上的立場。但是，您在現場聽到的是這樣的說法嗎？

I think I’ve heard everything about that. I don’t mean to be snarky. I haven’t heard anything about that. Is it cause for pause? I just think, we’re worn out.

我想我已經聽說過有關這件事的一切。我並不是故意要尖酸刻薄。我還沒有聽說過任何有關此事的消息。是暫停的原因嗎？我只是想，我們已經筋疲力盡了。

More of a confidence issue than anything else?

更多的是信心問題？

Yeah. Yeah.

是的。是的。

I’m knowing, what we know today, I’m pleased with where, traffic and demand looks like it is for us right now.

我知道，我們今天所知道的，我對我們目前所處的位置、流量和需求感到滿意。

Okay. That sounds great. Oh, and then last one, could you talk about pricing especially? Sounds like move up. You guys are getting pricing, but maybe what percentage of your communities were able to raise price during the quarter?

好的。聽起來很棒。哦，最後一個，您能特別談談定價嗎？聽起來像是要往上移動。你們正在獲取定價，但也許你們社區中有多少百分比能夠在本季提高價格？

No, we didn’t talk about that. But, overall demand’s okay. If you look at our average sale price and backlog the last few quarters, it has continued to go up. Do we have a higher mix of move up type communities? Maybe a little bit. But again, it comes down so much to location, product, price point, every community is a little bit different. We talked about being very targeted in incentives, but we’re really pretty pleased, with our price point and margins. And you know how it is Jay, when you have $3 billion, $4 billion, $5 billion of revenue, 10 basis points, 25 basis points matter so much. So, we focus on that pricing every day.

不，我們沒有談論這個。但是，整體需求還不錯。如果你看看我們過去幾季的平均銷售價格和積壓訂單，你會發現它一直在上漲。我們是否有更多的升級類型社群？也許有一點。但同樣，這很大程度取決於地點、產品、價格點，每個社區都有點不同。我們談到了激勵措施非常有針對性，但我們對我們的價格點和利潤率感到非常滿意。你知道傑伊的情況，當你有 30 億美元、40 億美元、50 億美元的收入時，10 個基點、25 個基點都非常重要。因此，我們每天都關注這個定價。

Understood. Okay, great. Thanks, guys. Appreciate the time.

明白了。好的，太好了。謝謝，夥計們。珍惜時間。

Alex Barron, Housing Research Center.

亞歷克斯·巴倫，住房研究中心。

Yeah, thanks for the follow up. Yes, I was looking at your share repurchase activity and it’s obviously been picking up quarter in the last few quarters. Just wanted to see if you guys could share with us your general thought process as you approach share buybacks going forward and also whether there’s been any discussion or thoughts around introducing a dividend.

是的，感謝您的跟進。是的，我正在研究你們的股票回購活動，它顯然在過去幾季有所回升。只是想看看你們是否可以與我們分享你們在未來進行股票回購時的整體思維過程，以及是否有關於引入股息的任何討論或想法。

Your question is about share repurchase?

您的問題是關於股票回購嗎？

Yes.

是的。

We’ve had $50 million a quarter of repurchases the last couple of quarters. You know, we look at that every quarter as far as what our business needs are. We do like our leverage where it is right now in the 20% range. So we will continue to look at that. We talked about our low debt levels and so forth, but we like what we’re doing. We talked about we bought back over 10% of the stock in the last couple years and that’s something we’ll just, continuing look at and depending on our business and so forth discontinued. We’re pleased with what we’re doing.

過去幾個季度，我們每個季度都會進行 5000 萬美元的回購。您知道，我們每季都會考慮我們的業務需求。我們確實喜歡我們目前處於 20% 範圍內的槓桿率。所以我們將繼續關注這一點。我們談論了我們的低債務水平等等，但我們喜歡我們正在做的事情。我們談到我們在過去幾年中回購了超過 10% 的股票，這就是我們將繼續關注並根據我們的業務等停止的事情。我們對我們正在做的事情感到滿意。

The other part of your question is about our thoughts about a dividend. There’s no plans for anything like that at this point.

你問題的另一部分是關於我們對股息的看法。目前還沒有類似的計劃。

Okay. Thank you, gentlemen.

好的。謝謝你們，先生們。

Thanks.

謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Creek for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在將把電話轉給克里克先生做總結發言。

Thank you for joining us. Look forward to talking to you next quarter.

感謝您加入我們。期待下個季度與您交談。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與，並請您斷開線路。