Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the third-quarter 2026 Meritage Homes analyst call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Meritage Homes 2026 年第三季分析師電話會議。(操作員指示) 請注意，今天的會議將被錄音。

(Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Emily Tadano, VP of Investor Relations and External Communications. Please go ahead.

(操作員指示) 現在我想把電話會議交給投資人關係與對外溝通副總裁 Emily Tadano。請開始。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to our analyst call to discuss our third quarter 2026 results. We issued the press release yesterday after the market closed. You can find it along with the slides we'll refer to during this call on our website at investors.meritagehomes.com or by selecting the Investor Relations link at the bottom of our homepage.

謝謝，操作員。各位早安，歡迎參加我們的分析師電話會議，討論 2026 年第三季業績。我們已於昨日收盤後發布新聞稿。您可在我們網站 investors.meritagehomes.com 上找到新聞稿以及本次會議將引用的簡報，或在我們首頁底部點選「投資人關係」連結。

Please refer to slide 2, cautioning you that our statements during this call as well as in the earnings release and accompanying slides contain forward-looking statements. Those and any other projections represent the current opinions of management, which are subject to change at any time, and we assume no obligation to update them. Any forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain.

請參閱第 2 頁投影片，提醒各位：我們在本次電話會議中的陳述，以及財報新聞稿與隨附投影片中，均包含前瞻性陳述。這些以及任何其他預測均代表管理層目前的觀點，可能隨時變更，我們不承擔更新義務。任何前瞻性陳述本質上都具有不確定性。

Our actual results may be materially different than our expectations due to a wide variety of risk factors, which we have identified and listed on this slide as well as in our earnings release and most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically our 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for subsequent quarters. We have also provided a reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures referred to in our earnings release as compared to their closest related GAAP measures.

由於多種風險因素，我們的實際結果可能與預期存在重大差異；我們已在本頁投影片以及財報新聞稿與近期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中加以辨識並列示，特別是我們的 2025 年度 Form 10-K 年報，以及其後各季的 Form 10-Q。我們亦提供了財報新聞稿中提及之若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標與其最接近之 GAAP 指標之調節表。

With us today, to discuss our results, are Steven Hilton, Executive Chairman; Phillippe Lord, CEO; and Hilla Sferruzza, Executive Vice President and CFO of Meritage Homes. We expect today's call to last about an hour. A replay will be available on our website later today.

今天與會並討論業績的有：執行董事長 Steven Hilton、執行長 Phillippe Lord，以及 Meritage Homes 執行副總裁兼財務長 Hilla Sferruzza。我們預計今天的電話會議約一小時。稍後今天可在我們網站收聽重播。

I'll now turn it over to Mr. Hilton. Steve?

接下來我把時間交給 Hilton 先生。Steve？

Thank you, Emily, and welcome to everyone joining today's call. Today, I'll start by sharing our thoughts on the current market dynamics and covering the key third quarter results. Philippe will then discuss our strategy, provide additional color on our operating metrics, followed by Hilla's review of our financial performance and our capital and liquidity position.

謝謝你，Emily，也歡迎各位參加今天的電話會議。今天我將先分享我們對當前市場動態的看法，並說明第三季的關鍵成果。接著 Philippe 將討論我們的策略，並就營運指標提供更多說明，之後由 Hilla 回顧我們的財務表現以及資本與流動性狀況。

Since we last spoke to you on our Q2 earnings call, external factors have exacerbated the uncertainty across the housing market. While job growth has remained a positive highlight, rising mortgage rates have further constrained affordability, increasing rate buydown costs and overall incentive usage and made homebuyers more hesitant to commit to a home purchase. Compounding these challenges are persistent inflationary pressures and growing concerns about job security.

自上次在第二季財報電話會議與各位交流以來，外部因素加劇了整體住宅市場的不確定性。儘管就業成長仍是正面亮點，但房貸利率上升進一步壓縮可負擔性，推升利率買斷成本與整體促銷誘因的使用，並使購屋者更猶豫是否承諾購屋。此外，持續的通膨壓力與對工作保障日益增加的擔憂，也使這些挑戰更加嚴峻。

Against this backdrop, we generated 3,083 sales orders in the third quarter of 2026, down 15% from the prior year despite a higher store count, but still achieving an absorption pace of three net sales per month.

在此背景下，我們於 2026 年第三季取得 3,083 筆銷售訂單，儘管門市數增加，仍較去年同期下降 15%，但仍達成每月每案場 3 筆淨銷售的去化速度。

While we believe that these headwinds may continue in the short-term, the long-term fundamentals in the US supporting homeownership demand have not changed. Favorable demographics continue to underpin demand for entry-level and first move-up product and homes at affordable price points remain desirable.

雖然我們認為這些逆風在短期內可能持續，但支撐美國自住需求的長期基本面並未改變。有利的人口結構持續支撐首購與首次換屋（first move-up）產品的需求，而具可負擔價格帶的住宅仍具吸引力。

During the third quarter, we closed 3,187 homes, generating $1.2 billion of home closing revenue. Adjusted home closing gross margin was 17.9% and adjusted diluted EPS was $1.11, excluding $6 million of real estate inventory impairments. Inclusive of $285 million of year-to-date share repurchases as of September 30, 2026, book value per share increased 4% year-over-year.

第三季我們交屋 3,187 戶，帶來 12 億美元的住宅交屋營收。調整後住宅交屋毛利率為 17.9%，調整後稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）為 1.11 美元，已排除 600 萬美元的不動產存貨減損。截至 2026 年 9 月 30 日，年初至今包含 2.85 億美元的庫藏股回購在內，每股帳面價值年增 4%。

With that, I'll now turn it over to Philippe.

接下來我把時間交給 Philippe。

Thank you, Steve. Before we dive into our operational highlights, I'd like to step back and discuss what is top of mind for us at Meritage Homes right now. In today's tougher environment, we are taking deliberate actions across all facets of the business to maximize cash generation, preserve liquidity, and maintain capital flexibility.

謝謝你，Steve。在深入說明營運亮點之前，我想先退一步談談 Meritage Homes 目前最關注的重點。在當前更具挑戰的環境下，我們正於業務各面向採取審慎行動，以最大化現金創造、維持流動性，並保有資本彈性。

We are tightly managing our total targeted home inventory to align with the slower sales environment while also focusing on monetizing complete homes. We achieved our internal mandate to reduce discretionary spend as we enter 2026, and expect to find incremental opportunities for savings in 2027. We remain highly selective in our land acquisition as we already have sufficient land to support our near-term goals.

我們嚴格管理目標住宅總庫存，使其與較慢的銷售環境一致，同時聚焦於將完工住宅變現。我們已達成在進入 2026 年時降低可裁量支出的內部要求，並預期在 2027 年找到更多節省機會。在土地收購方面，我們仍維持高度選擇性，因為我們已有足夠土地以支撐短期目標。

In addition to our dividend, we continue to repurchase shares in Q3, albeit at a more normalized pace following the elevated levels of prior periods, further preserving capital. These actions reflect our focus on controlling what we can control and maintaining the financial flexibility to navigate a range of market conditions.

除股利之外，我們在第三季仍持續回購股票，但相較前期較高水準，步調已回到較正常的速度，以進一步保留資本。這些行動反映我們專注於掌控可控事項，並維持財務彈性，以因應各種市場情境。

I'll spend a bit more time discussing these objectives shortly, but the combination of these initiatives is our primary focus until we see some stability in the markets. On last quarter's call, we shared that we've been reallocating capital over the last few quarters towards 1MU as we advance our previously communicated goal of 1MU representing about one-third of our overall portfolio.

我稍後會花更多時間討論這些目標，但在我們看到市場出現一定穩定性之前，這些措施的組合將是我們的主要重點。在上季電話會議中，我們分享過：過去幾季我們一直將資本重新配置至 1MU，以推進先前所溝通的目標——讓 1MU 約占我們整體產品組合的三分之一。

While this was part of our initial target back in 2017, during the last five or six years, we skewed heavier to the entry-level space, aligning with the demand trends in the market. I'd like to take a minute and provide some additional context regarding Meritage and our 1MU product.

雖然這是我們在 2017 年最初目標的一部分，但在過去五到六年，我們更偏重首購市場，以符合市場需求趨勢。我想花一點時間，補充一些關於 Meritage 以及我們 1MU 產品的背景。

To varying degrees, first move-up has been part of our inventory lineup for the last four decades. We are simply looking to achieve a more balanced product mix in the future as our customer base matures and demand for more highly appointed homes increases. This additional consumer segment fits well with our existing business strategy. We know the markets, we know the product, we know the customer base, and we understand the land required to be successful at selling these homes.

在不同程度上，首次換屋（first move-up）產品在過去四十年一直是我們庫存組合的一部分。隨著客群逐漸成熟、對更高規格住宅的需求增加，我們只是希望未來能達成更均衡的產品組合。這個額外的消費者族群與我們既有的商業策略非常契合。我們了解市場、了解產品、了解客群，也了解要成功銷售這些住宅所需的土地條件。

All of our markets support first move-up product, and we have not wavered from our disciplined underwriting and return thresholds, knowing that slightly lower absorption pace is offset by improved margin profiles. These investments should begin to translate into a higher mix of first move-up sales orders and closings in the back half of 2028 and into 2029, and position us to serve a broader range of buyers, support long term growth and create improved portfolio diversification.

我們所有市場都支持首次換屋產品；我們也未曾偏離嚴謹的承作評估與報酬門檻，因為我們知道略低的去化速度可由更佳的毛利結構所抵銷。這些投資應在 2028 年下半年至 2029 年開始反映為更高比例的首次換屋銷售訂單與交屋，並使我們能服務更廣泛的買方族群、支持長期成長，並提升產品組合的多元化。

We will continue to share our progress in the coming quarters. But for now, let's turn to slide 4. Third quarter 2026 orders of 3,083 were 15% lower year-over-year, primarily due to a 21% decline in average absorption pace, which was partially offset by a 7% increase in average community count.

未來幾季我們將持續分享進展。現在請看第 4 頁投影片。2026 年第三季訂單為 3,083 筆，年減 15%，主要因平均去化速度下降 21%，部分由平均社區數增加 7% 所抵銷。

The Q3 cancellation rate was 13%, same as Q2, reflecting a continuing challenging selling environment with affordability pressures and ongoing uncertainty causing some buyers to reconsider their purchase decisions and time lines.

第三季取消率為 13%，與第二季相同，反映在可負擔性壓力與持續不確定性下，銷售環境仍具挑戰，導致部分買方重新考量其購買決策與時程。

While our average absorption pace was 3.3 net sales per month during the third quarter compared to 3.8 a year-ago and 3.5 in Q2, we are pleased we were able to achieve these results without extending incentives beyond our internal projections as we hit our gross margin targets. We credit our teams with solid execution as we manage to the selling environment, especially with our current outsized entry-level mix that skews towards a more affordability-sensitive buyer.

雖然第三季平均去化速度為每月 3.3 筆淨銷售，低於去年同期的 3.8 以及第二季的 3.5，但我們很高興在達成毛利率目標的同時，未將促銷誘因擴大到超出內部預估的程度，仍能取得這些成果。我們肯定團隊在因應銷售環境上的扎實執行力，特別是在目前首購產品占比較高、客群對可負擔性更敏感的組合結構下。

We believe that execution is supported by a differentiated go-to-market strategy, which differentiates us from both our new construction and resale product competitors. Our move-in ready homes and 60-day closing guarantee give buyers greater clarity and certainty around their closing time line, combining the benefits of a new home with the speed and availability often associated with the resale market.

我們相信，我們的執行力得以由差異化的上市策略（go-to-market strategy）所支撐，使我們有別於新建案與二手房產品的競爭對手。我們的可立即入住（move-in ready）住宅與60天交屋保證，讓買方對交屋時程有更高的清晰度與確定性，結合新屋的優勢與二手市場常見的速度與供給可得性。

Our strong realtor relationships further differentiate the experience, generating repeat business and a steady source of buyer traffic through our broker network. This quarter, over one-third of our sales were brought to us through realtors that had previously sold Meritage's homes.

我們與房仲（realtor）的穩固合作關係，進一步差異化整體體驗，透過經紀人網絡帶來回頭客與穩定的買方流量。本季，超過三分之一的銷售是由先前曾銷售過Meritage住宅的房仲所帶來。

We balance pace and price to maximize returns on an asset-by-asset basis. When the demand backdrop is relatively inelastic to pricing, we won't pursue volume at all costs simply to achieve our long term goal of four net sales per month. We will look to optimize margin and preserve the value of our land portfolio. ASP on orders this quarter of $383,000 was down 2% from prior year due to the higher cost and utilization of incentives as well as some geographic mix.

我們在每一項資產層級上平衡銷售速度與價格，以最大化報酬。當需求背景對價格相對缺乏彈性時，我們不會為了達成長期每月四筆淨銷售（net sales）的目標而不計代價追求量。我們將著重於最佳化毛利並維護土地資產組合的價值。本季訂單的平均售價（ASP）為383,000美元，較去年同期下降2%，主因為獎勵措施（incentives）成本與使用率提高，以及部分地區組合因素。

Our active community count of 348 at September 30, 2026, was up 4% year-over-year and 2% sequentially. We opened 34 new communities during the quarter, predominantly in the East region. On a year-to-date basis, we had just over 100 new communities come online. We reiterate our expectation of a 5% to 10% full year 2026 community count growth year-over-year.

截至2026年9月30日，我們的在售社區（active community）數量為348個，年增4%，季增2%。本季我們新開34個社區，主要位於東部區域。以年初至今計算，我們有略高於100個新社區上線。我們重申對2026年全年社區數量年增5%至10%的預期。

The additional communities position us to gain market share when demand conditions improve, while providing further scale to better leverage our overhead and gain greater efficiencies over time. Throughout Q3, the sales environment became incrementally more challenging as mortgage rates increased from approximately 6.6% at the start of the quarter to 7.5% by September 30.

新增社區使我們在需求條件改善時得以提升市占率，同時提供更大的規模，以更有效槓桿化管理費用並隨時間推進取得更高效率。整個第三季期間，隨著房貸利率自季初約6.6%上升至9月30日的7.5%，銷售環境逐步變得更具挑戰。

Higher rates, persistent inflation, and concerns about job security added to affordability pressures and weighed on consumer confidence. This trend carried into October. We believe our results will remain choppy in the near-term as elevated incentive expectations become norm and customers need more time to commit to a new home purchase.

較高利率、持續通膨以及對就業安全的疑慮，加劇了可負擔性壓力並拖累消費者信心。此趨勢延續至10月。我們認為在短期內業績仍將呈現波動，因為市場對獎勵措施的較高期待正成為常態，且客戶需要更多時間才會承諾購買新屋。

Moving to our regional trends on slide 5. The Central region achieved a 3.7 net sales per month average absorption pace this quarter, although demand remained highly localized with a mix of stronger and weaker markets. Dallas and Houston continue to rank among our strongest markets across our national footprint, supported by an undersupply of affordable new homes and favorable in-migration trends, while market conditions remain tougher in San Antonio and Austin.

接著看投影片5的各區域趨勢。本季中部區域達到每月平均吸收率（absorption pace）3.7筆淨銷售，但需求仍高度在地化，強弱市場並存。在我們全國版圖中，達拉斯與休士頓仍名列最強市場之列，受惠於平價新屋供給不足與有利的人口淨移入趨勢；相較之下，聖安東尼奧與奧斯汀的市場狀況仍較為艱難。

In the East region, South Florida and Jacksonville were strong performers, supported by our well-priced affordable product in each areas with constrained entry-level resale inventory. Other markets in the region were relatively weaker, where we pulled back on pace due to the inelasticity of demand. Our teams in the start-up divisions of Huntsville and the Gulf Coast are making slow but steady progress as we continue to increase the Meritage's brand awareness in these newer markets.

在東部區域，南佛羅里達與傑克遜維爾表現強勁，受惠於我們在各地區具競爭力定價的平價產品，以及入門級二手房庫存受限。該區域其他市場相對較弱，因需求缺乏彈性，我們因此放緩銷售速度。我們在亨茨維爾與墨西哥灣沿岸的新設事業部團隊正緩慢但穩健地推進，並持續提升Meritage在這些新市場的品牌知名度。

In the West region, we prioritize margin over volume in markets facing more significant affordability pressures or heightened builder competition like California, Denver, and Arizona, which all remain a highly competitive market space requiring higher incentives to move inventory. As we look to the end of 2026 and into 2027, it is our intention to continue balancing price and pace on a community-by-community basis to optimize every asset across our footprint.

在西部區域，對於面臨更顯著可負擔性壓力或建商競爭加劇的市場（如加州、丹佛與亞利桑那），我們優先考量毛利而非銷量；這些市場仍高度競爭，需提供更高的獎勵措施以去化庫存。展望2026年底並進入2027年，我們的意圖是持續以社區為單位平衡價格與速度，以最佳化我們版圖內的每一項資產。

Now turning to slide 6. Q3 starts totaled approximately 3,400 homes as we continue to try to align our starts pace to our sales pace. With over 55% of Q3 closings also sold during this quarter, our backlog conversion rate was nearly 190%, reflecting our quick close strategy and within our targeted range of 175% to 200%. Our ending backlog was approximately 1,600 homes as of September 30, 2026, and approximately 1,700 as of September 30, 2025.

現在轉到投影片6。第三季開工（starts）總量約3,400戶，我們持續嘗試讓開工速度與銷售速度一致。由於第三季交屋中有超過55%亦是在本季售出，我們的在手訂單（backlog）轉換率接近190%，反映我們的快速交屋策略，且落在目標區間175%至200%之內。截至2026年9月30日，我們期末在手訂單約1,600戶；而截至2025年9月30日約1,700戶。

Combining our total specs and backlog, we had around 7,100 units at September 30, 2026, 12% less than approximately 8,100 homes at September 30, 2025, reflecting our intentional efforts to reduce inventory in light of current market conditions. We ended the quarter with approximately 5,500 spec homes, down 14% from approximately 6,400 in the prior year and up 7% sequentially from Q2.

合併我們的成屋庫存（specs）與在手訂單，截至2026年9月30日我們約有7,100戶，較2025年9月30日約8,100戶少12%，反映我們因應當前市場狀況而有意降低庫存的努力。本季末我們約有5,500戶成屋庫存，較去年同期約6,400戶下降14%，並較第二季季增7%。

The nearly 16 specs per store this quarter translated to about five months supply, a bit higher than last quarter as we pulled back on sales to preserve margin, but still in line with our target of 4 to 6 months of supply. Comparatively, in the third quarter of 2025, we had 19 specs per store also at 5 months supply.

本季每個銷售據點（store）接近16戶成屋庫存，約相當於5個月供給量；由於我們為維持毛利而放緩銷售，供給月數較上季略高，但仍符合我們4至6個月供給量的目標。相較之下，2025年第三季我們每店有19戶成屋庫存，供給量同樣為5個月。

We reduced our completed specs to approximately 1,900 units in Q3, which was about 1,100 units lower than the prior year. 34% of our total specs were completed at our target of one-third. This compared to 47% in the prior year and 30% in the second quarter. We are entering Q4 with a slightly higher spec inventory per store balance than we had anticipated, reflecting the unexpected pace of deterioration in market conditions in the third quarter, but we're adjusting our starts in Q4 to ensure we exit 2026 with the right amount of total spec inventory for the 2027 spring selling season.

第三季我們將已完工成屋（completed specs）降至約1,900戶，較去年同期少約1,100戶。我們總成屋庫存中有34%為已完工，符合我們約三分之一的目標。相較之下，去年同期為47%，第二季為30%。我們進入第四季時，每店成屋庫存略高於原先預期，反映第三季市場狀況惡化速度超出預期；但我們正於第四季調整開工，以確保在2026年底時，總成屋庫存能符合2027年春季銷售旺季所需的適當水位。

With that, I will now turn it over to Hilla, to walk through our financial results.

接下來我將把時間交給Hilla，請她說明我們的財務結果。

Thank you, Philippe. Let's turn to slide 7 and cover our Q3 results in more detail. Third quarter 2026 home closing revenue of $1.2 billion was 17% lower than prior year due to a 14% decrease in closing volume and a 4% decline in ASP on closings to $365,000. The decline in ASP was primarily due to higher incentive costs and utilization as well as some geographic mix.

謝謝你，Philippe。讓我們看投影片7，更詳細說明第三季業績。2026年第三季住宅交屋營收為12億美元，較去年同期下降17%，主因交屋量下降14%，以及交屋平均售價（ASP）下降4%至365,000美元。ASP下降主要由於獎勵措施成本與使用率提高，以及部分地區組合因素。

With almost a 190% backlog conversion rate, our closings reflect real-time demand and incentive trends. As mortgage rates followed the steep upward trajectory of the 10-year bond market this quarter, utilization of incentives and the associated cost to secure rate buy-downs increased notably between Q2 and Q3 and compared to prior year. Absent a sustained market-driven catalyst that provides meaningful mortgage rate relief, we expect incentives to remain at this elevated level for the near-term.

在接近190%的在手訂單轉換率下，我們的交屋反映即時需求與獎勵措施趨勢。本季房貸利率跟隨10年期公債市場的陡峭上行走勢，第二季到第三季之間，以及相較去年同期，用於鎖定利率買斷（rate buy-downs）的獎勵措施使用率與相關成本明顯上升。若缺乏能帶來顯著房貸利率緩解、且可持續的市場驅動催化因素，我們預期短期內獎勵措施將維持在此較高水準。

Home closing gross margin of 17.4% in the third quarter of 2026 was 170 bps lower than prior year's 19.1% due to higher lot and incentive costs and loss leverage on lower revenue, which were partially offset by improved direct costs and lower performance-based compensation expense.

2026年第三季住宅交屋毛利率為17.4%，較去年同期19.1%下降170個基點（bps），主因地塊成本與獎勵措施成本上升，以及在營收下降下的槓桿不利（loss leverage）；部分被直接成本改善與績效型薪酬費用降低所抵銷。

Third quarter 2026 home closing gross margin included $6.6 million of real estate inventory impairments and a $600,000 net credit related to terminated land deal walk-away charges, reflecting about $1 million of walk-aways, offset by $1.5 million we were able to recoup from previously incurred charges. Comparatively, we had $8.7 million of real estate inventory impairments and $5.8 million in terminated land deal walk-away charges in the prior year.

2026年第三季住宅交屋毛利率包含660萬美元的不動產存貨減損，以及與終止土地交易之放棄費用（walk-away charges）相關的60萬美元淨貸項；其中約100萬美元為放棄費用，並由我們自先前已認列費用中追回的150萬美元所抵銷。相較之下，去年同期我們認列870萬美元的不動產存貨減損，以及580萬美元的終止土地交易放棄費用。

Excluding all of these charges, adjusted home closing gross margin was 17.9% and 20.1% for the third quarters of 2026 and 2025, respectively. The majority of this quarter's impairments came from the sale of inventory in 5 communities to our institutional BFR partners. We determined that the best way to optimize these assets was to take a discounted price for a guaranteed exit from a few select markets where we did not anticipate a short-term improvement in market conditions, placing a higher value on the quick return of capital.

排除所有這些費用後，經調整的住宅交屋毛利率在2026年與2025年第三季分別為17.9%與20.1%。本季大部分減損來自於將5個社區的庫存出售給我們的機構型BFR合作夥伴。我們判定，最佳的資產優化方式，是在少數我們預期短期內市場狀況不會改善的特定市場，以折價換取保證退出，並更重視資金快速回收的價值。

While all related impairments were recorded this quarter, a portion of the impact of homes closed in Q3 with the remainder expected to close in Q4 and early 2027 at approximately 0 margin. Our gross margin continues to include home closings with the higher land development costs we incurred between 2022 and 2025, which we anticipate will continue to negatively weigh on our margins through at least 2027.

雖然所有相關減損均於本季入帳，但其影響的一部分來自於第三季已交屋的房屋，其餘預計將於第四季及2027年初交屋，且毛利率約為0。我們的毛利率仍包含在2022年至2025年間因土地開發成本較高而產生的交屋案，我們預期這將至少持續到2027年對毛利率造成負面壓力。

As incentive usage returns to normalized levels in the future and in combination with our anticipated increased volume of new offerings, we expect our lot costs will then be able to return to historical averages as a percentage of ASP. In Q3, direct cost per square foot declined nearly 5% year-over-year, extending our cost savings to approximately 14 consecutive quarters.

隨著未來促銷激勵的使用回到常態水準，並結合我們預期新產品供給量增加，我們預期地塊成本占平均售價（ASP）的比重將可回到歷史平均水準。

While our procurement team has successfully pushed back on price increases to-date, tariffs, along with higher oil-based materials and transportation costs are increasingly pressuring the supply chain. If this trend continues, we anticipate modest cost increases could impact margins over the next several quarters. We are also monitoring the impact of potential ICE activities on labor costs, although to-date, such actions have been extremely limited.

雖然我們的採購團隊迄今成功抵禦價格上漲，但關稅以及油品相關材料與運輸成本上升，正日益對供應鏈造成壓力。若此趨勢持續，我們預期未來幾個季度溫和的成本上升可能會影響毛利率。我們也在監測潛在ICE行動對勞動成本的影響，但迄今此類行動極為有限。

Sequentially, adjusted gross margin declined 70 bps to 17.9% in Q3 from 18.6% in Q2, primarily driven by decreased leverage on lower home closing revenue and higher incentives, which were partially offset by direct cost savings. While we do not anticipate significant gross margin recovery in the next several quarters, our long-term target remains at 22.5% to 23.5% under normalized market conditions when incentives and interest rates are more in line with historical averages.

按季比較，第三季經調整毛利率由第二季的18.6%下降70個基點至17.9%，主要因交屋營收較低導致槓桿效益下降，以及激勵措施增加；部分由直接成本節省所抵銷。雖然我們不預期未來幾個季度毛利率會顯著回升，但在激勵與利率更接近歷史平均的常態化市場條件下，我們的長期目標仍為22.5%至23.5%。

Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of third quarter 2026 home closing revenue were 11%, losing only 20 bps compared to 10.8% in the third quarter of 2025. Lost leverage from lower home closing revenue and higher technology costs were partially offset by disciplined cost management and lower performance-based compensation expense in 2026. Importantly, we reduced absolute SG&A dollars year-over-year, reflecting our continued focus on operating efficiency and tightly managing costs in this environment.

2026年第三季，銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）占住宅交屋營收的比重為11%，相較2025年第三季的10.8%僅下降20個基點。交屋營收較低造成的槓桿效益流失與科技成本上升，部分被嚴謹的成本管理以及2026年較低的績效型薪酬費用所抵銷。重要的是，我們的SG&A絕對金額年減，反映我們持續聚焦營運效率，並在此環境下嚴格控管成本。

Diving a bit deeper into our sales and marketing costs. Despite the challenging sales environment, we did not increase on sales and marketing spend on a per sale basis. External commission rates remained consistent year-over-year and sequentially and co-broker participation continue to trend in the low 90s percent.

再更深入談談我們的銷售與行銷成本。儘管銷售環境具挑戰性，我們並未在「每筆銷售」基礎上增加銷售與行銷支出。外部佣金率在年比與季比皆維持一致，而共同經紀（co-broker）參與度持續維持在90%出頭的水準。

The third quarter's effective income tax rate was 20.1% this year compared to 22.6% for the third quarter of 2025. The 2026 tax rate reflects our second annual purchase of below-market 45V transferable Clean Fuel Production Tax Credits that reduced the income tax expense this quarter.

本年度第三季有效所得稅率為20.1%，相較2025年第三季的22.6%。2026年的稅率反映我們第二年購買低於市價的45V可轉讓清潔燃料生產稅額抵減（Clean Fuel Production Tax Credits），降低了本季所得稅費用。

Q3 net earnings of $68 million were 32% below $99 million in the prior year, mainly due to lower home closing revenue and gross profit. Diluted EPS declined a lower 25% year-over-year from $1.39 for the third quarter of 2025, to $1.04 for the third quarter of 2026, benefiting from the elevated $285 million spent year-to-date on share repurchases. Adjusted diluted EPS for the current quarter was $1.11, excluding impairments.

第三季淨利為6,800萬美元，較去年同期的9,900萬美元下降32%，主要因住宅交屋營收與毛利較低。稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）年減25%，由2025年第三季的1.39美元降至2026年第三季的1.04美元，受惠於年初至今投入2.85億美元進行庫藏股回購。本季經調整稀釋EPS（排除減損）為1.11美元。

Shifting to the key results for the first 9 months of 2026. On a year-over-year basis, orders were down 10%, closings were down 12% and our home closing revenue decreased 16% to $3.7 billion on 17,000 lower closing ASP. Adjusted home closing gross margin of 18.1% was 310 bps lower than 2025.

接著看2026年前9個月的關鍵成果。以年比來看，訂單量下降10%，交屋量下降12%，住宅交屋營收下降16%至37億美元，主要因交屋平均售價（ASP）降低17,000美元。經調整住宅交屋毛利率為18.1%，較2025年低310個基點。

SG&A as a percentage of home closing revenue was 11% and net earnings decreased 42% to $214 million. Adjusted diluted EPS was $3.38 for the first 9 months of 2026, excluding impairments and walk-away charges. Before turning to the balance sheet, we'd like to note that consistent with prior quarters, our average customer credit profile was stable again in the third quarter with FICO scores, DTIs and LTVs consistent with historical averages.

SG&A占住宅交屋營收的比重為11%，淨利下降42%至2.14億美元。2026年前9個月的經調整稀釋EPS（排除減損與放棄交易費用）為3.38美元。在轉向資產負債表之前，我們想指出，與前幾季一致，我們第三季的平均客戶信用概況再次保持穩定，FICO分數、負債收入比（DTI）與貸款價值比（LTV）均與歷史平均一致。

Even in today's K-shaped economy, we're attracting the right qualified buyer in the entry-level and first move-up markets, but ongoing uncertainty and affordability pressures continue to weigh on consumer confidence and the timing of home purchase decisions. On to slide 8. As of September 30, 2026, we had $677 million in cash, no outstanding borrowings under our credit facility and a net debt-to-cap ratio of 18.9%, reflecting the strength of our balance sheet.

即使在當前K型經濟下，我們在首購與首次換屋升級市場仍吸引到合適且具資格的買家，但持續的不確定性與可負擔性壓力仍在影響消費者信心與購屋決策時點。接著看第8頁。截至2026年9月30日，我們持有現金6.77億美元，循環信貸額度下無任何未償借款，淨負債對資本比率為18.9%，反映我們資產負債表的強勁。

We remain focused on preserving liquidity by operating below our mid-20% target net debt to cap and maintaining a disciplined capital allocation strategy that appropriately balances liquidity, growth, and returning capital to shareholders based on market conditions. We continuously reassess and reprioritize capital to maximize long term returns.

我們仍專注於維持流動性，透過將淨負債對資本比率控制在20%中段目標以下運作，並維持嚴謹的資本配置策略，依市場狀況在流動性、成長與回饋股東之間取得適當平衡。我們持續重新評估並調整資本優先順序，以最大化長期報酬。

In the current environment, we have reduced both land spend and share repurchases as we believe a focus on liquidity is paramount during uncertain times. As such, our land acquisition and development spend declined 38% year-over-year to $329 million in the third quarter. We anticipate full year land acquisition and development spend below $1.5 billion with total land supply remaining in line with our four- to five-year target range.

在目前環境下，我們已同時降低土地支出與股票回購，因我們認為在不確定時期，聚焦流動性至關重要。因此，本季土地取得與開發支出年減38%至3.29億美元。我們預期全年土地取得與開發支出將低於15億美元，且總土地供給仍將符合我們四至五年的目標區間。

We returned $86 million of capital to shareholders via buybacks and dividends this quarter, which was consistent with the same period last year. We bought back nearly 760,000 shares or 1.2% of shares outstanding at the beginning of the quarter for $55 million at an average discount to book value of 7%.

本季我們透過回購與股利向股東返還資本8,600萬美元，與去年同期一致。我們以5,500萬美元回購近76萬股（約占本季初流通在外股數的1.2%），平均回購價格相對帳面價值折價7%。

We repurchased 435 million shares over the last 12 months, reducing our September 30, 2025, outstanding share count by 9%. As of September 30, 2026, $229 million was available under the repurchase program.

過去12個月我們回購了4.35億股，使截至2025年9月30日的流通在外股數減少9%。截至2026年9月30日，回購計畫下仍可動用2.29億美元。

We remain confident about our intrinsic value and view share repurchases as an attractive use of capital when our stock is undervalued. However, given the uncertainty in the market today, our near-term priorities are funding the dividend and maintaining ample liquidity. Accordingly, we will closely evaluate share repurchases along with all other uses of cash. But based on our experience navigating prior cycles, we believe preserving maximum capital flexibility is prudent in the current environment.

我們對公司的內在價值仍具信心，並認為當股價被低估時，股票回購是具吸引力的資本運用方式。然而，鑑於當前市場不確定性，我們短期優先事項是支應股利並維持充足流動性。因此，我們將與其他所有現金用途一併審慎評估股票回購。但基於我們過往因應景氣循環的經驗，我們認為在目前環境下保留最大的資本彈性是審慎之舉。

We increased our quarterly cash dividend 12% year-over-year to $0.48 per share in 2026 from $0.43 per share in 2025. Our cash dividends this quarter totaled $31 million and $94 million year-to-date. For the first 9 months of 2026, we returned nearly $380 million of capital to shareholders, or 177% of our total earnings to-date this year.

我們在2026年將季度現金股利年增12%，由2025年的每股0.43美元提高至每股0.48美元。本季現金股利合計3,100萬美元，年初至今合計9,400萬美元。2026年前9個月，我們向股東返還近3.8億美元資本，約為今年迄今總盈餘的177%。

Slide 9. In the third quarter of 2026, we secured nearly 2,000 net new lots under control, consistent with the third quarter of 2025. These lots primarily represent communities for 2028 and beyond as we own or control the lots we need to meet our community targets through at least 2027.

投影片 9。在 2026 年第三季，我們新增取得近 2,000 個淨新增可控地塊，與 2025 年第三季一致。這些地塊主要代表 2028 年及以後的社區，因為我們已擁有或控制至少到 2027 年為止達成社區目標所需的地塊。

As of September 30, 2026, we owned or controlled a total of about 71,800 lots, equating to 5.3 year supply for the last 12 months closings, just slightly above our target of four- to five-year supply. We also had approximately 18,000 lots that were still undergoing diligence at the end of the quarter. 69% of our total lot inventory at September 30, 2026, was owned and 31% was optioned, which was consistent with both Q2 and prior year.

截至 2026 年 9 月 30 日，我們合計擁有或控制約 71,800 個地塊，按過去 12 個月交屋量計算相當於 5.3 年供給，僅略高於我們 4 至 5 年供給的目標。此外，在季末我們仍有約 18,000 個地塊處於盡職調查階段。截至 2026 年 9 月 30 日，我們地塊總庫存中 69% 為自有、31% 為選擇權取得，與第二季及去年同期一致。

Although our target for off-balance sheet is still around 40%, we do not believe that this structure is the right solution for every land deal. We evaluate such opportunities on a deal-by-deal basis on their financial merits to see if they can absorb the incremental cost. When we do elect to utilize an OBS structure, we ensure that we earn enhanced returns to offset the cost while maintaining our ability to reasonably terminate the transaction in deteriorating market conditions. We expect to achieve our target OBS ratio over time in a methodical and thoughtful manner.

雖然我們對表外（off-balance sheet）的目標仍約為 40%，但我們不認為這種架構適用於每一筆土地交易。我們會逐案依其財務效益評估此類機會，判斷是否能吸收額外成本。當我們選擇採用 OBS 架構時，我們會確保取得更高的報酬以抵銷成本，同時在市場狀況惡化時仍能保有合理終止交易的能力。我們預期將以有條不紊且審慎周延的方式，隨時間推進達成 OBS 比例目標。

As we consider today's uncertain market conditions and with our high backlog conversion rate further limiting our visibility, we do not believe it is prudent to provide Q4 or preliminary 2026 guidance at this time. We plan to use the balance of this year to conduct a detailed assessment of our balance sheet and operational needs to ensure the business is appropriately aligned with the current environment, and we look forward to sharing our thoughts and actions with you on our Q4 earnings call.

考量當前不確定的市場環境，以及我們較高的積壓訂單轉換率進一步限制了能見度，我們認為此時提供第四季或 2026 年初步指引並不審慎。我們計畫利用今年剩餘時間，對資產負債表與營運需求進行詳細評估，以確保公司能與目前環境適切對齊，並期待在第四季財報電話會議上與各位分享我們的想法與行動。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Philippe.

接下來我把時間交回給 Philippe。

Thank you, Hilla. Please turn to slide 10. Despite a challenging housing market, we maintained an average absorption pace of three net sales per month by balancing pace and price and leveraging our broker relationships. We remain firmly committed to our strategy of pre-starting homes and streamline operations, which we believe positions Meritage for long term success.

謝謝你，Hilla。請翻到投影片 10。儘管房市充滿挑戰，我們透過在速度與價格之間取得平衡並善用與房仲的合作關係，仍維持每月平均每社區 3 戶的淨銷售吸收速度。我們仍堅定致力於預先開工（pre-starting）與精簡營運的策略，我們相信這能讓 Meritage 具備長期成功的定位。

Additionally, our strong balance sheet was built to withstand challenging environments like this, and we continue to focus on controlling the controllables by tightly managing inventory and costs, preserving liquidity and maintaining the flexibility to navigate near-term uncertainty and capitalize on opportunities as conditions improve.

此外，我們強健的資產負債表本就是為了承受像這樣具挑戰性的環境而打造；我們也持續專注於掌控可控因素，透過嚴格管理庫存與成本、維持流動性，並保有彈性，以因應短期不確定性並在條件改善時把握機會。

We are disciplined in our capital allocation decisions, appropriately allocating capital across liquidity, growth, and returning capital to shareholders. We also believe increasing the mix of first move-up product in our sales portfolio over time will enhance our long-term shareholder value creation.

我們在資本配置決策上保持紀律，適當地在流動性、成長與回饋股東之間分配資本。我們也相信，隨時間提高銷售組合中「首次換屋」（first move-up）產品的比重，將提升我們長期為股東創造價值的能力。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to the operator for instructions on the Q&A. Operator?

接下來我把電話會議交給主持人，請其說明問答環節的指示。主持人？

(Operator Instructions)

（主持人指示）

Trevor Allinson, Wolfe Research.

Wolfe Research 的 Trevor Allinson。

First one is on how you're balancing pace and price in the current environment. You talked about preserving margins. But in the past, you've often talked about being significantly more efficient as you get closer to that four absorption pace.

第一個問題是關於你們在目前環境下如何在速度與價格之間取得平衡。你們談到要維持毛利率。但過去你們常提到，當吸收速度接近每月 4 戶時，你們的效率會顯著提升。

So if demand conditions remain similar to where they're at today, how should we think about the absorption pace for you guys that properly balances some of the efficiencies that you get from running a little faster without leaning in too hard into what may be a less elastic market currently?

所以如果需求狀況仍與目前相近，我們應該如何看待你們的吸收速度，才能在不過度押注於目前可能較缺乏彈性的市場前提下，仍能適度取得加快節奏所帶來的一些效率？

So thanks, Trevor. Our -- as we stated, our -- we're most efficient when we operate between three and four net sales per month. Obviously, four is better than three, but we can operate pretty efficiently at three. So I think that's the range we want to play in, depending on how elastic and inelastic the market is right now or the market will be.

謝謝，Trevor。如我們所說，我們在每月 3 到 4 戶淨銷售的區間運作時效率最高。顯然 4 比 3 更好，但在 3 的水準我們也能相當有效率地運作。所以我認為這就是我們希望運作的區間，取決於目前市場或未來市場的彈性或缺乏彈性程度。

The current market, at least in this very moment in time as we move through the more unseasonal pattern of Q4, and with some of the stuff we have going on in the macro environment and then rates being where they are, the market feels about as inelastic as it felt in a long time. So we're going to be very prudent as we navigate that. And I think Q3 is a pretty good reflection of what we're trying to target based on what the market can give us.

就目前此刻而言，當我們進入第四季較不符合季節性的走勢，加上總體環境的一些因素，以及利率處在目前水準，市場的彈性之低，感覺是很長一段時間以來最明顯的。因此我們在因應時會非常審慎。我認為第三季相當能反映我們基於市場可提供的條件所試圖鎖定的目標。

I think we're a little bit of a broken record. You hear us saying this on all the calls, but it's a community-by-community, division-by-division decision. So it's not three across the board. Some were two, some were five, some are something in the middle. So the intent, as you said, is to make sure that we're optimizing leveraging without giving away the inherent value of the asset.

我想我們有點像壞掉的唱片。你們在每次電話會議都聽到我們這麼說，但這確實是以社區為單位、以事業部為單位的決策。所以不是所有地方都維持 3。有些是 2、有些是 5、有些介於兩者之間。因此如你所說，我們的用意是確保在不犧牲資產內在價值的前提下，最佳化槓桿運用。

Yes, makes sense. Appreciate all that color. And then second is on 4Q, I appreciate you're not providing guidance here. Clearly, with your guys' backlog conversion rate, the market impacts you real-time. Maybe I'll just ask then on what your incentives look like currently versus kind of where they were at in 3Q.

了解，合理。謝謝你提供這些細節。第二個問題是關於第四季，我理解你們這裡不提供指引。很明顯，因為你們的積壓訂單轉換率，市場會即時影響你們。那我就改問：你們目前的銷售激勵措施，和第三季相比大概是什麼情況？

Any sort of quantification on how those have changed? I appreciate it may change again here moving forward, but just kind of where you're running at today versus where you ran at in 3Q on average.

能否量化一下這些變化？我理解未來可能還會再變，但想了解你們目前的水準，相較於第三季平均水準大概如何。

Yes. We're not giving out any guidance right now. That's kind of the point is it's moving so fast, frankly. And as rates accelerated into the back half of Q3 and now we're starting out Q4 at that higher rate, there's just a lack of visibility that we're currently experiencing. And until we have more visibility, we're just not comfortable giving out guidance at that level.

是的。我們目前不提供任何指引。重點就在於變化非常快，坦白說。而且隨著利率在第三季後半段加速上升，現在第四季一開始就處在更高的利率水準，我們目前面臨的能見度不足。在能見度提高之前，我們不太願意在那個層級提供指引。

That being said, we're starting out the quarter at the higher rate that we ended the previous quarter with. So that should give you some pretty good indication of where incentives are running at. But the market, as I said, is fairly inelastic right now. So we're not going to push further on that when it's not really moving demand.

話雖如此，我們在本季一開始的利率水準，就是上一季結束時的較高利率水準。因此這應該能讓你對激勵措施目前的水準有相當不錯的判斷。但如我所說，市場目前相當缺乏彈性。所以當進一步加碼並未真正帶動需求時，我們不會再往前推。

I know that maybe this is an illusion to some of our peers who have guided to an incremental couple of hundred bps further of incentives in Q4 than Q3. Just a reminder, we are real-time with 190% backlog conversion.

我知道對一些同業而言，可能會有種錯覺：他們指引顯示第四季相較第三季激勵措施還會再增加幾百個基點。提醒一下，我們的積壓訂單轉換率是 190%，屬於即時反映。

So some of what they're intimating is activity that occurred in Q3 that will close in Q4. Our Q3 activity, a lot of it is already closed in Q3. So I think you're seeing the market conditions in our numbers already.

所以他們所暗示的一部分，其實是第三季發生、但會在第四季交屋的活動。我們第三季的活動，有很大一部分已在第三季完成交屋。

Okay. Makes sense. Appreciate all the color and good luck navigating the volatile market moving forward.

好的，了解。謝謝你提供這些細節，也祝你們接下來在波動市場中順利應對。

Alan Ratner, Zelman.

Zelman 的 Alan Ratner。

Hilla, maybe I'll just follow-up quickly on that last comment you made on the incentives. I just want to make sure I'm thinking about this right because recognizing your margins are kind of reflecting real-time trends, it did seem like the market took a fairly meaningful leg lower in September towards the end of your quarter.

Hilla，我想就你剛才關於激勵措施的最後一點快速追問。我想確認我的理解是否正確：考量到你們的毛利率某種程度反映即時趨勢，確實看起來市場在 9 月、也就是你們季度末附近，出現了相當明顯的再度下滑。

So I just want to make sure -- I mean, obviously, you're selling and delivering pretty quickly. But I would imagine in September, probably pricing or incentives took a leg lower with demand. So are you telling us that the margin you printed this quarter fully captures that? Or is there potentially a bit of a lagged effect just from the September pullback we saw?

所以我只是想確認一下——我的意思是，很明顯你們的銷售與交付速度相當快。但我想像在9月，隨著需求走弱，價格或促銷激勵可能又下了一個台階。所以你們是在告訴我們，本季你們呈現的毛利率已經完全反映了這些影響嗎？還是說，因為我們在9月看到的回落，可能仍會有一些滯後效應？

Yes. Alan, this is why we're not giving out guidance because we don't really -- it's week-to-week right now. And we're moving into an election cycle. We got some stuff going on. So until things firm up and we have more visibility, we'll be willing to answer those type of questions. But right now, the reason we're not giving out guidance and the fact that we are real-time tells you that things are moving fairly quickly.

是的。Alan，這也是為什麼我們不提供指引，因為我們真的——現在是以週為單位在變化。而且我們正進入選舉週期。我們這邊也有一些事情在發生。所以在情況更明朗、我們有更多能見度之前，我們會願意回答這類問題。但就目前而言，我們不提供指引，以及我們是即時反映（real-time）的這件事，本身就說明情勢變動得相當快。

Fair enough. All right. I appreciate that. Secondly, I might have misheard, but I think when -- Hilla, when you were making the comments about the impairment and the sales to BFR, I thought you made a comment in there that you were exiting markets as opposed to maybe exiting communities.

可以理解。好。謝謝你的說明。第二點，我可能聽錯了，但我想在——Hilla，當你談到減損以及出售給BFR時，我以為你在其中提到你們是在退出某些市場，而不是可能退出某些社區（communities）。

So I just wanted to double-click on that and get some clarification. And then more broadly, if you could talk about your general thoughts on BFR as a whole now that the ROAD to Housing Act has been passed, and it sounds like maybe we're seeing some renewed interest in that. Is that an opportunity for you guys to lean more heavily in that segment?

所以我想再深入確認一下，請你澄清。另外更廣泛地，若可以的話，請談談你們目前對整體BFR的看法；現在《ROAD to Housing Act》已經通過，聽起來我們可能看到一些重新升溫的興趣。這是否是你們可以在該細分領域加大投入的機會？

Yes. So you do have Eagle ear. Good listening. That -- it's not markets, it's communities. There are just five communities that in that particular community, in that geography, it didn't make sense for us to take the bird in the hand, the guaranteed return of capital at a very accelerated pace as we typically do with the build-for-rent community.

是的。所以你的耳朵很靈。聽得很仔細。那——不是市場（markets），是社區（communities）。只有五個社區，在那個特定社區、那個地理區域裡，對我們而言，像我們通常在BFR社區所做的那樣，去把「手上的鳥」——也就是以非常加速的速度取得資本回收的保證報酬——並不合理。

It was a much better answer for us to try to continue to work through that existing inventory in that community. So you're right, it's just those communities. It's not any total market that we're uncomfortable with. We're happy about all the markets that we're in.

對我們來說，更好的做法是嘗試在該社區把既有庫存繼續消化掉。所以你說得對，就只是那些社區。並不是我們對任何整體市場感到不安。我們對目前所在的所有市場都很滿意。

As far as BFR in general, they're impacted by interest rates, same as us, but there does seem to be some slight renewed interest around the edges primarily for whole communities. It's not really changed from where we have been historically. We're running at low single digits maybe for the last 5-ish years of BFR being a part of our business.

至於整體BFR，一樣會受到利率影響，跟我們相同；但在邊際上確實看到一些些重新升溫的興趣，主要是針對整個社區（whole communities）。這跟我們過去一貫的狀況其實沒有太大改變。過去大概5年左右，BFR作為我們業務的一部分，大概是低個位數占比。

So it's not a material part of our business, although it is helpful in unique situations, as we specifically mentioned in our prepared remarks, where they have the ability to take an entire community and relieve us from having to work through it slowly and get the capital back.

所以它不是我們業務中很重大的部分，但在某些特殊情況下確實有幫助；正如我們在事先準備的講稿中特別提到的，當他們有能力承接整個社區時，就能讓我們不必慢慢去消化，並把資金回收回來。

Stephen Kim, Evercore.

Stephen Kim，Evercore。

Appreciate the color so far. Can you give us a sense for -- in terms of market conditions, are you seeing more of a convergence of demand conditions across your markets? Or are you still seeing the same kind of significant variability that you normally see across your -- across the country?

感謝目前為止的補充說明。就市場狀況而言，你們能否談談——你們是否看到各市場之間的需求狀況更趨於收斂？還是你們仍然看到像以往一樣、在全國各地市場之間存在相當顯著的差異？

No, it's -- I mean, we have 350-ish communities. We have some really great communities that are still very stable. We talked about Dallas and Houston, parts of Florida, even some communities in core infill locations in the west are doing well, things that we bought a while back that are very affordable. So it's community-by-community. I wouldn't say that we're seeing some sort of all boats are moving in the same direction right now.

沒有——我的意思是，我們大概有350個社區。我們有一些非常好的社區仍然非常穩定。我們談到達拉斯和休士頓、佛羅里達的部分地區，甚至西部核心填充（core infill）地段的一些社區也表現不錯，尤其是我們較早買進、價格非常可負擔的案子。所以是逐社區（community-by-community）。我不會說我們現在看到某種「水漲船高、所有船都往同一方向走」的情況。

Housing is very local still. There's still a lot of demand out there. If you can unlock it and solve it with the right product and the right price and location, there's still a lot of opportunities. That's why we were able to sell three net sales per month last quarter.

住宅市場仍然非常在地化。市場上仍然有很多需求。如果你能用對的產品、對的價格與地點把需求解鎖並解決，仍然有很多機會。這也是為什麼我們上季能做到每月三戶的淨銷售。

Yes. And I think I heard you say that you're pretty comfortable or at least planning to run sort of at this kind of three absorption level for the foreseeable future or at least in the near-term. I just want to clarify that, is that like a level that you feel moving meaningfully lower than that is not something that you feel you would be comfortable tolerating?

是的。而且我想我聽到你說，你們相當有信心，或至少計畫在可預見的未來、或至少短期內，維持在這種每月三戶的去化（absorption）水準。我想確認一下：這是否代表如果水準明顯低於這個數字，你們會覺得難以接受？

And then if you can give us a sense for specs per community, how do you calibrate the level that you want that to be at given the current difficult market conditions?

另外，如果你能提供每個社區的成屋（spec homes）數量概況：在目前艱難的市場環境下，你們如何校準希望維持的水位？

Yes. I don't think over an extended period of time, we would operate below three. It might be choppy here depending on sort of things that we don't control. We'll see what happens here over the next 60 days. We'll see how the spring materializes. But over a 12-month period, we're going to try to at least operate between three and four net sales per month.

是的。我不認為在較長一段時間內，我們會在每月三戶以下運作。短期可能會有些波動，取決於一些我們無法控制的因素。我們看看接下來60天會怎麼發展。也看看春季銷售季會如何成形。但以12個月的期間來看，我們會努力至少維持在每月三到四戶的淨銷售。

But we may dip below that or a little bit higher than that depending on seasonality and et cetera, et cetera. But that feels like a pace that we need to go out and achieve to maximize the efficiencies of our business and monetize our land appropriately. Specs, we're a little heavy right now, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that the market kind of deteriorated quicker than we thought into September as rates moved up over 7%.

但我們可能會因為季節性等等因素，短暫低於或略高於這個區間。不過這樣的節奏，感覺是我們為了最大化營運效率、並適當地將土地變現（monetize our land），所必須達成的。至於成屋（specs），我們目前稍微偏高，但很大一部分原因是市場在9月惡化的速度比我們預期更快，因為利率升到7%以上。

So we'll adjust those accordingly here in Q4. And we like to be around 4 to 6 months of sales depending on where we're at in the seasonal demand trends. We like a little heavier going into the spring. We like a little bit lighter going into the fall.

所以我們會在第四季相應調整。我們希望成屋庫存大約維持在4到6個月的銷售量，視季節性需求趨勢而定。進入春季時我們喜歡稍微多一點；進入秋季時我們喜歡稍微少一點。

Our cycle times are really tight, so we should be able to manage to that as long as the pace of demand, both up and down is relatively predictable, which right now, there's a lack of visibility around that. But we typically want to operate in that range. And I think for 2027, we're going to plan to be on the low end of that range because we want to preserve as much liquidity as we can right now.

我們的建造週期時間（cycle times）非常緊湊，所以只要需求的上行與下行節奏相對可預測，我們就能管理到那個水準；但目前在這方面的能見度不足。不過我們通常希望在那個區間內運作。而且我認為到2027年，我們會計畫維持在該區間的低端，因為我們現在想盡可能保留流動性。

John Lovallo, UBS.

John Lovallo，UBS。

It's clearly, I think, human nature to have a little bit of recency bias, and I think that makes a lot of sense, particularly given all the uncertainty. But the questions that I have are kind of related to a lot of things we're hearing from investors. And so I'm curious to your thoughts on them.

很明顯地，我想，人性使然會有一點近因偏誤（recency bias），而且在充滿不確定性的情況下，這其實很合理。但我想問的問題，某種程度上與我們從投資人那邊聽到的很多事情有關。所以我也想聽聽你對這些看法。

The first is -- I mean, look, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 7.35% and consumer confidence at all-time lows are undoubtedly headwinds, right? But rates could drop with any kind of resolution in Iran, any kind of tempering of inflation. And if you think about the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, I mean, it's being heavily weighted by Democrats. I mean, the September reading of 48.1%, I think the Democratic reading was 39.5%. I think the Republican reading was 82.5%. So maybe there's some balancing there in the midterm.

第一個是——我的意思是，你看，30年期固定利率房貸在7.35%，而消費者信心在歷史低點，毫無疑問是逆風，對吧？但如果伊朗問題有任何形式的解決、或通膨有任何降溫，利率可能會下來。而且如果你看密西根大學消費者信心指數，我的意思是，它的權重很大程度上受到民主黨受訪者影響。我的意思是，9月讀數是48.1%，我記得民主黨的讀數是39.5%，共和黨的讀數是82.5%。所以也許在期中選舉時會有一些平衡。

So the heart of the question is, notwithstanding the challenges in the market today, and I'm talking about rates and consumer confidence, do you believe that if these factors improve, you could see a quick bounce back in buyer demand?

所以問題的核心是，儘管當前市場面臨挑戰——我指的是利率與消費者信心——你是否相信如果這些因素改善，買方需求可能會快速反彈？

Absolutely. I mean, there was a lot that you said in that question. But yes, if there's less noise politically, if there's lower rates, if gas prices come down, I think demand would recover very, very quickly, and we plan to be ready for that. On the other hand, for the time being, all those things are directionally going the other way, and we plan to manage our business in a very conservative way during that period of time until we get that visibility and we get some more predictability.

絕對會。我的意思是，你在那個問題裡提到了很多面向。但答案是肯定的：如果政治面的雜音變少、利率下降、油價回落，我認為需求會非常、非常快地恢復，而我們也計畫為此做好準備。另一方面，就目前而言，這些因素的方向都在往相反的方向走，因此在我們取得能見度、並獲得更多可預測性之前，我們計畫在這段期間以非常保守的方式來經營業務。

But yes, I mean, there's clearly a lot of underlying demand out there that is electing to not buy a home right now. And the reason they're electing to not buy a home right now is because of all the things that you just mentioned.

不過是的，我的意思是，市場上顯然存在大量的潛在需求，只是目前選擇不買房。而他們之所以選擇現在不買房，原因就是你剛才提到的那些因素。

There's three legs to the housing stool and consumer confidence is one of the most precarious ones. And right now, consumers are disengaged with the market because from their perspective, buying and making the biggest financial decision of their life doesn't make sense to do in Q4 of 2026.

住房市場這張「三腳凳」有三個支柱，而消費者信心是其中最不穩固的一個。而現在，消費者對市場採取觀望，因為在他們看來，在2026年第四季做出人生中最大的財務決策——買房——並不合理。

Also, John, with our 60-day close and our all spec starts, when the market does return, it's not an if, it's just a when. We're going to be able to capitalize on that very, very quickly, right? So our entire operating structure is set to analyze market changes very, very quickly. And hopefully, we'll be able to monetize any demand increases.

另外，John，憑藉我們60天交屋週期以及全數投機型（spec）開工，一旦市場回來——不是會不會的問題，只是什麼時候的問題。我們將能非常、非常快地把握住機會，對吧？因此，我們整個營運架構都設定為能非常、非常快速地分析市場變化。並且希望能將任何需求增加變現。

And I think we've demonstrated in the last five years with multiple sort of stops and starts to the business that we're able to move very quickly in both directions. We have a very flexible balance sheet. We control a lot of land for very little dollars. We're not cross-collateralized. We can walk-away from things if we need to.

我認為在過去五年裡，面對多次業務的起伏與反覆，我們已經證明自己能在兩個方向都非常快速地調整。我們的資產負債表非常有彈性。我們用很少的資金控制了大量土地。我們沒有交叉擔保。必要時我們可以放棄某些項目。

We can self-liquidate fairly quickly. We can adjust starts appropriately. We can adjust our SG&A appropriately. We're more agile and flexible than we've ever been in the past, and that affords us the opportunity to move quickly when the market recovers.

我們也能相當快地自我清算。我們可以適當調整開工量。我們可以適當調整SG&A（銷售、一般及行政費用）。我們比以往任何時候都更敏捷、更具彈性，這讓我們在市場復甦時有機會快速行動。

Yes. It makes a lot of sense. And then second question along a similar vein. I mean, I know you mentioned in the press release and in the comments that the next few quarters will be unpredictable, and that probably goes without saying. But I guess what I wanted to just kind of touch on is that we've had two consecutive years where the spring has suffered an exogenous shock, whether it was Liberation Day last year or the Iran war this year.

是的。這很有道理。接著第二個問題也類似。我的意思是，我知道你在新聞稿和評論中提到，接下來幾個季度會難以預測，這大概不言而喻。但我想稍微觸及的是：我們已經連續兩年在春季遭遇外生性衝擊，不論是去年的「解放日」，或是今年的伊朗戰爭。

It feels to us that in the absence of a third consecutive year with an exogenous shock, almost by definition, we should have a somewhat better spring. I mean, I know there's other factors at play there, but would you push back on that?

我們覺得，如果沒有連續第三年再出現外生性衝擊，幾乎按定義來說，春季應該會稍微好一些。我的意思是，我知道還有其他因素在起作用，但你會反駁這個看法嗎？

Yes. I mean, I would say that there's a lot of ifs and buts in that because housing is very psychological. And so if we're moving into a period potentially where people just think it's not a great time to buy, I'm not sure just because it's February, that changes. It could. It usually does.

會。我是說，我會說這裡面有很多「如果」和「但是」，因為住房市場非常受心理因素影響。因此，如果我們正進入一段期間，人們可能只是覺得現在不是買房的好時機，我不確定僅僅因為到了二月就會改變。有可能會。通常確實會。

People feel more optimistic coming into the spring, and that's when they go out and buy houses because they want to buy a house before the next school year, and they want to move and make the adjustment. So it could, but I think we have to wait and see right now, and that's kind of the plan.

人們在進入春季時會更樂觀，而那也是他們外出買房的時候，因為他們想在下一個學年開始前買到房子，也想搬家並完成調整。所以有可能，但我認為我們現在必須觀察等待，這也是目前的計畫。

Susan Maklari, Goldman Sachs.

Susan Maklari，高盛。

My first question is on market conditions in the near-term. I guess as you think about just the overall inelasticity that we are seeing, what does that imply for competition into year-end? We tend to see builders that make moves in order to get specs and inventory in line before the end of the year. Do you think that there'll be any change in overall competition just given the fact that the consumer confidence is so weak right now?

我的第一個問題是關於短期的市場狀況。我想，當你考量我們看到的整體缺乏彈性（inelasticity）時，這對年底前的競爭意味著什麼？我們往往會看到建商為了在年底前讓投機屋（spec）與庫存回到合理水位而採取行動。鑑於目前消費者信心如此疲弱，你認為整體競爭態勢會有任何變化嗎？

Yes, it's a great question. I think builders have done a very nice job this year controlling their inventory. And including us, we're not going into the fourth quarter with a bunch of excess finished inventory that we need to get rid of. I think if we slow down our starts in Q4, we kind of feel like we go into spring selling season with the right amount.

是的，這是個很好的問題。我認為建商今年在控制庫存方面做得非常好。包括我們在內，我們不會在第四季帶著一堆需要出清的過量完工庫存進入季度。我認為如果我們在第四季放慢開工，我們會覺得進入春季銷售旺季時，庫存量會是合適的。

I think based on what I'm seeing from our competitors, they're in a similar spot. There might be a little bit of an overhang into Q4. But for the most part, I think people have been -- our competitors have been very responsible about their inventory. There's been a big shift out of spec into BTO by a lot of our competitors.

根據我從競爭對手那裡看到的情況，他們也處於類似的位置。第四季可能會有一點點庫存壓力（overhang）。但大體上，我認為大家——我們的競爭對手——在庫存管理上都非常負責任。許多競爭對手已大幅從投機型（spec）轉向BTO（按單建造）。

So I think for those reasons, I don't expect there to be a big overhang. There might be some places around the country where there's some inventory adjustments and some aggressive pricing to clear out some stuff. But for the most part, I think it's pretty well balanced.

所以基於這些原因，我不預期會出現很大的庫存壓力。全國某些地區可能會有一些庫存調整，並透過較具侵略性的定價來清掉一些產品。但整體而言，我認為供需相當平衡。

Okay. That's encouraging. And then turning to the balance sheet. I know you mentioned that you'll do a very detailed assessment as you -- as we get into 2027. But just at a high level, when you think about the world that we're in right now, can you talk about the level of cash and the level of leverage that you are comfortable holding in this environment?

好的。這令人鼓舞。接著談到資產負債表。我知道你提到，隨著我們進入2027年，你們會做非常詳細的評估。但就高層次而言，當你看待我們目前所處的環境時，你能談談在這種環境下，你們覺得舒適的現金水位與槓桿水位大概是多少嗎？

Yes, I'll let Hilla comment, but I think we sort of said it in the script. When we think about our balance sheet, liquidity, capital allocation, our two non-negotiables are investment grade and the net debt to cap in the low 20s and to continue to pay our dividend.

可以，我先讓Hilla補充，但我想我們在講稿裡其實已經說過了。當我們思考資產負債表、流動性與資本配置時，我們有兩個不可妥協的目標：維持投資級評等，以及將淨負債占資本比（net debt to cap）維持在20%出頭，同時持續支付股利。

And then we'll manage the rest of our capital from there to make sure we achieve those goals. And part of being investment grade is maintaining a certain level of liquidity. So we'll focus on that. The adjustments we'll make will be on the land side, on SG&A and on our starts to get there. We have the ability to do that. So anything you want to add to that, Hilla?

然後我們會在此基礎上管理其餘資本，確保達成這些目標。而投資級的一部分要求是維持一定水準的流動性。所以我們會聚焦在這一點。我們將做的調整會在土地端、SG&A，以及開工量上，以達到目標。我們有能力做到。Hilla，你還想補充什麼嗎？

No, I think you hit all the highlights. If you noticed a little nuance, we brought down our total spend projection for the year to a maximum of 1.5, kind of indicating that there's another further leg down on expected land spend for Q4. So the trigger for us that we can accelerate or decelerate fairly quickly is land is also obviously our largest percentage of total capital allocation is dedicated to land acquisition and development.

沒有，我想你已經涵蓋所有重點了。如果你注意到一個小細節，我們把今年的總支出預估下調到最高1.5，某種程度上表示我們預期第四季的土地支出還會再往下走一段。對我們而言，可以相當快速加速或減速的觸發點是土地；而且土地顯然也是我們總資本配置中占比最大的一塊，主要用於土地取得與開發。

So we have a lot of mechanisms, especially in a slowing environment where we don't need to increase the community count, both reflecting the sales environment and the fact that we're having faster closeouts, we're not going to hit all of the same targets that we had initially expected a couple of years ago.

因此我們有很多機制，特別是在景氣放緩的環境下，我們不需要增加社區數量；這既反映了銷售環境，也反映出我們結案速度更快，因此我們不會達到幾年前最初預期的所有相同目標。

So we have the ability to maintain growth at a much lower acquisition and development spend. So you're going to see our cash balance pretty much do what it's doing right now, hopefully, for the foreseeable future.

因此，我們有能力在更低的收購與開發支出下維持成長。所以你會看到我們的現金餘額大致上會維持目前的走勢，希望在可預見的未來都是如此。

Rafe Jadrosich, Bank of America.

Rafe Jadrosich，美國銀行。

I was wondering, can you walk us through the mechanics of the impairments and zero margin homes? Just trying to get an understanding of going forward kind of the core margin relative to like the headwind from the zero margin homes, like how long will that continue? And is there any way to quantify that impact?

我想請問，你們能否帶我們了解一下減損與零毛利住宅的運作機制？我只是想理解，往前看核心毛利相對於零毛利住宅帶來的逆風會是什麼樣子、這種情況會持續多久？以及是否有任何方式可以量化其影響？

We didn't provide any incremental detail beyond five communities, but I mean, you can take five communities, average communities, you know what our average community size is and kind of spread it over a year, right? It's Q3, Q4 and first half of next year.

除了五個社區之外，我們沒有提供任何額外細節；但我的意思是，你可以用五個社區、以一般社區來看，你也知道我們平均社區規模是多少，然後把它攤到一年來看，對吧？會落在第三季、第四季以及明年上半年。

So I don't think the impact is material, although there will be some pullback in our margin that we won't specifically call out as an impairment because it's not impaired. It's just an extremely low margin volume of homes because we've intentionally written them down to a zero margin. So there will be a little bit of noise. It's not something that's overly material, but there'll be a little bit of impact from those communities for the next three quarters.

所以我不認為影響是重大的，雖然我們的毛利會有一些回落，但我們不會特別把它稱為減損，因為它並沒有減損。它只是因為我們刻意把它們減記到零毛利，導致這些住宅的成交量呈現極低毛利。所以會有一點雜訊。這不是特別重大的事情，但接下來三個季度，這些社區會帶來一些影響。

Got it. And it started in 3Q? Or is it starting in 4Q?

了解。那是從第三季開始嗎？還是從第四季開始？

Correct. We took the impairment in the third quarter, but the closings from those homes are going to happen in Q3, Q4, Q1, and Q2.

沒錯。我們在第三季認列了減損，但這些住宅的交屋會發生在第三季、第四季、第一季與第二季。

Yes. And we had some modest impairments for the last year. They've been mostly walking away from land deals that no longer -- they're not really impairments, they're walk-away. So there's going to be some noise as we rationalize land and we make sure that we have the right land for current market environment.

是的。而且過去一年我們也有一些小幅減損。它們多半是退出不再合適的土地交易——嚴格來說不算減損，而是放棄交易。因此，當我們合理化土地配置並確保我們持有的土地符合當前市場環境時，會出現一些雜訊。

And then sort of following up on that on the previous question, you mentioned that you'll take the balance of the year to sort of conduct an assessment of the balance sheet. Is that a comment on capital allocation priorities or additional impairments? Just can you just expand on that and what that means?

接著延續上一個問題，你提到你們會用今年剩餘時間來對資產負債表做某種評估。這是在談資本配置優先順序，還是可能有額外減損？能否再多說明一下這段話的意思？

It's a comment regarding land. I mean, as we look at sort of where we are, what the next couple of years might look like, what our growth trajectory will be, the goal would be to rationalize every piece of land we have within that environment. And most of it is the right land, but some of it's not. And we're going to make some very -- we're going to scrutinize every land deal right now to make sure it's part of the long-term profitability equation for the company.

這是針對土地的評論。我的意思是，當我們檢視目前所處位置、未來幾年可能的樣貌，以及我們的成長軌跡時，目標是在那樣的環境下把我們手上每一塊土地都做合理化檢視。大部分是合適的土地，但有些不是。而我們現在會非常——我們會嚴格審視每一筆土地交易，確保它是公司長期獲利方程式的一部分。

If you think about us indicating that land acquisition and development is going to be the lever that we can increase or lower on capital allocations, we were initially set up for a different volume and a different pace.

如果你想想我們所提到的：土地收購與開發將是我們在資本配置上可以上調或下調的槓桿，我們一開始是為不同的量體與不同的節奏所做的配置。

There's just some extra land that we haven't taken down yet that we might not need, right, looking forward. So we're just going to have to look at everything and say, does this still pencil? Is this still the ideal location and make those decisions in Q4. It's not something that we typically had to do, but we did have to do -- go through the similar exercise in last year's Q4.

只是有一些額外的土地我們還沒承接下來，而往前看我們可能不需要，對吧？所以我們必須檢視所有項目並問：這案子還算得過來嗎？這地點仍然理想嗎？並在第四季做出這些決策。這不是我們通常必須做的事，但去年第四季我們也做過——進行過類似的檢視。

Jonathan Bettenhausen, Truist Securities.

Jonathan Bettenhausen，Truist Securities。

So the company-wide absorption pace dropped down to 3.0 this quarter, kind of the bottom end of your preferred range. The West and East were below, the Central above. That dynamic is kind of nothing new. But from an end-of-period community count perspective, like you added the most communities in the Central.

所以公司整體的吸收速度（absorption pace）本季降到 3.0，算是你們偏好區間的下緣。西部與東部低於該水準，中部高於該水準。這種動態其實不算新鮮事。但從期末社區數量的角度看，你們在中部新增的社區最多。

Is that by design to a certain extent? Like are you deliberately slowing the community openings in the East and the West relative to the Central in order to kind of mix the company into higher sales pace, that 3% to 4% or that 3% to 4% range? And how should we think about community opening mix going forward?

這在某種程度上是刻意為之嗎？例如，你們是否有意相對於中部，在東部與西部放慢社區開盤速度，以便讓公司組合更偏向較高的銷售速度，也就是 3% 到 4%——或 3% 到 4% 的區間？以及往後我們應該如何看待社區開盤的組合？

Yes. A lot of it is just timing. I think we've made some pretty big investments in the Texas region, which we call the Central region. So those are starting to open up. We have over-indexed capital to the East and Central that is by design long-term.

是的。其中很大一部分只是時間點的因素。我認為我們在德州地區（我們稱為中部地區）做了相當大的投資。所以那些社區正開始開出來。我們把資本配置在東部與中部的比重偏高，這是長期刻意的設計。

We think that those two regions will make up a bigger part of our business over time. We've opened up a lot of new markets out in the East that we're continuing to try to grow and scale. So long-term, yes, that's by design. But I think more this quarter, that was just a timing thing.

我們認為這兩個區域隨著時間推進會占我們業務更大的比重。我們在東部開拓了許多新市場，並持續嘗試成長與擴張規模。所以長期來看，是的，這是刻意為之。但我認為就本季而言，那更多只是時間點的因素。

And then as we indicated on our call, we expect our community count year-end to be somewhere around 5% to 10% year-over-year growth. And we're not giving out 2027 guidance at this point, and we'll provide that in Q1 of next year on our Q4 earnings call.

另外，如同我們在電話會議中所提到的，我們預期年底的社區數量年增率大約會在 5% 到 10% 之間。目前我們不提供 2027 年的指引，我們會在明年第一季、於第四季財報電話會議時提供。

Got it. Okay. And just following up on that, too, like when we think about the scale benefits from sales pace, does your long-term kind of target sales pace change from region to region? I guess, asked in a different way, like a 4.0 absorption pace in the East give you the same kind of scale benefit to something like a 4.3 in Central.

了解。好，那也延伸追問一下：當我們思考銷售速度帶來的規模效益時，你們長期目標的銷售速度會因區域而不同嗎？換個方式問：東部 4.0 的吸收速度，帶來的規模效益是否與中部 4.3 類似？

No. I mean, it's a community-by-community kind of ground up getting to our number. In the higher end, more unaffordable stuff, we don't usually achieve four. We achieve something closer to three, but more affordable, bigger scale communities, we can get something closer to five sometimes.

不會。我的意思是，這是以每個社區為單位、由下而上去達到我們的數字。在較高端、較不具可負擔性的產品上，我們通常達不到 4。我們更接近 3；但在更可負擔、規模更大的社區，有時我們可以接近 5。

So it all blends out to about four and four is kind of our optimal run range, but it's not four across the footprint. ASP is a big driver. Higher ASPs tend to skew more towards three, lower ASPs tend to skew more towards five or six when things are normal. So when we're looking at three, some of our more affordable stuff will skew more to four and some of our less affordable stuff will skew more to two.

所以整體加總後大約落在 4，而 4 算是我們最佳的運行區間，但並不是整個版圖都固定是 4。平均售價（ASP）是很大的驅動因素。較高的 ASP 往往更偏向 3；較低的 ASP 在正常情況下往往更偏向 5 或 6。因此當我們看到 3 的時候，我們一些較可負擔的產品可能會更偏向 4，而一些較不具可負擔性的產品可能會更偏向 2。

Michael Rehaut, Melius.

Michael Rehaut，Melius。

I wanted to first just zero in on the incentives out there. You mentioned at the beginning of the call, increased rate buydown costs. And I'm just curious, when you think about the buydowns that are offered out there today, are they -- has the absolute rate come down with softer demand over the last two or three months?

我想先聚焦在目前市場上的各種優惠（incentives）。你在電話會議一開始提到，利率買斷（rate buydown）成本增加。我想請教的是，當你們看今天市場上提供的買斷方案時——在過去兩到三個月需求轉弱的情況下，絕對利率是否已經下降了？

Or is it just that the spread has widened and the rate being offered is the same and the spread widening because of the higher market rates that are out there are causing the increase of costs. And I'm curious not only for Meritage, but for the market more broadly.

還是只是利差擴大，而所提供的利率其實相同；由於市場利率走高導致利差擴大，進而造成成本上升。我不僅想了解 Meritage 的情況，也想了解更廣泛的市場狀況。

Yes, Mike, it's a combination of both. So we're not offering the same rate that we used to offer maybe 18 months ago or 12 months ago. However, it's also not 100 bps higher, which is what the mortgage rate has increased. So it's kind of splitting the baby. So it's a little bit of a bigger spread even though our actual rate has increased a bit that we're offering in the rate buydown.

是的，Mike，兩者都有。所以我們現在提供的利率，已經不是可能 18 個月前或 12 個月前的那個水準。不過，也不是高出 100 個基點，因為房貸利率的上升幅度大約就是這麼多。所以算是折衷。也就是說，利差稍微更大一些；同時我們在利率買斷（rate buydown）中提供的實際利率也確實上調了一點。

Okay. Got it. And I guess, secondly, on SG&A, great discipline there, obviously, amid a very tough top line dynamic. How should we think about -- I'm not asking for guidance, but just maybe if you could give us a sense of the dollar amount of savings maybe you've clawed back this year and if there's any expected kind of incremental flow-through next year in terms of the specific actions you've taken on the discretionary spend?

好的，了解。另外第二點，關於 SG&A，在營收端面臨非常艱難的情況下，你們顯然展現了很好的紀律。我們該如何看待——我不是在要求指引，但如果可以的話，能否讓我們大概了解一下今年你們大約追回了多少美元的節省金額，以及就你們在可自由裁量支出上採取的具體措施而言，明年是否預期還會有任何額外的增量傳導效應？

Well, I'll give you some high-level thoughts. But as far as specific dollars that we save this year, I don't know if we have that detail today, but we can see. But there's still more opportunity for us to operate more leanly in a potentially up and down environment, if you will.

我可以給你一些高層次的看法。但就今年我們節省了多少具體金額而言，我不確定我們今天是否有那麼細的明細，不過我們可以再看看。但在一個可能上上下下的環境中，我們仍然有更多機會以更精實的方式運作。

Hard to say what 2027 is going to look like, but I think we're all expecting it to be less than we were six months ago. So there's opportunity for us to get more efficient as a company as we move into that -- move into next year.

很難說 2027 年會是什麼樣子，但我想大家都預期它會比我們六個月前的預期要弱一些。因此，隨著我們進入——進入明年，我們有機會讓公司變得更有效率。

I think in addition, we're just finally starting to really benefit from some of the investments we made in technology. We have a number of areas around the company that we spent a lot of time in the last couple of years developing a technology that allows us to be more efficient and operate our business in a more efficient way.

另外，我們也終於開始真正受益於先前在科技方面的投資。過去幾年，我們在公司內多個領域投入大量時間開發技術，讓我們能更有效率、以更有效的方式經營業務。

And those benefits will continue to be a tailwind for us as we move into 2027 and even beyond because we have some other stuff that is in the works. So more to come on that. We think we can operate more efficiently. We think there's still more meat on the bone there. And we'll continue to operate our business in a very disciplined fashion considering the efficient operating model that we have as a company. And then I don't know, Hilla, if you want to comment on anything dollar-wise.

隨著我們邁入 2027 年甚至更久之後，這些效益仍會持續成為我們的順風，因為我們還有一些其他項目正在推進中。所以後續還會有更多內容。我們認為我們可以運作得更有效率。我們認為那裡仍然還有更多可挖掘的空間。考量到我們作為一家公司的高效率營運模式，我們會持續以非常嚴謹的方式經營業務。至於金額方面，我不知道 Hilla 你是否想補充一些。

Yes, not specific dollar-wise, but if you look at commission and selling costs, almost all of that is variable, right? So we break out commission and selling costs and then just regular G&A. So almost all of commission and selling costs are variable. It's a function of either volume or ASP on the commission. So that is moving directly with the pace that we're seeing and it's not necessarily a management function.

是的，不談具體金額，但如果你看佣金與銷售成本，幾乎全部都是變動性的，對吧？所以我們會把佣金與銷售成本拆出來，然後再看一般的 G&A。因此，幾乎所有的佣金與銷售成本都是變動的。佣金是取決於銷量或 ASP（平均售價）的函數。

So all of the savings that you're seeing are in the G&A category, and those are all intentional. There's very little in that category that's variable that's moving on its own. So all of the actions that you're seeing, the decline year-over-year that you're seeing is true cost savings. So you can kind of look at it that way if you're trying to quantify it.

所以你看到的所有節省都在 G&A 類別裡，而那些都是刻意為之。那個類別裡幾乎沒有什麼是會自行變動的變動成本。因此，你看到的那些行動、你看到的年對年下降，都是實質的成本節省。如果你想量化，可以用這個角度來看。

Jay McCanless, Citizens.

Jay McCanless，Citizens。

So my first question, Philippe, you talked about certain areas of the country where there's going to be more pressure from your competitors to move through some of their specs. Is that part of the reason you guys are choosing not to give guidance is that maybe you've got some extra specs in those areas, and it's going to be a tougher competition to get to year-end than it might have been otherwise?

我第一個問題，Philippe，你提到在全國某些地區，競爭對手為了去化一些現房（spec homes）會帶來更大的壓力。這是否也是你們選擇不提供指引的部分原因：也許你們在那些地區也有一些額外的現房，因此要在年底前達成目標會比原本預期更艱難？

No. I don't -- that's not the main reason we're not giving out guidance. I mean, look, we had more visibility in Q3 than we do right now, and we didn't quite hit the midrange of our guidance. So I think with the lack of visibility we currently have until there's more visibility and certainty and we feel like the market isn't kind of moving from week to week.

不是。我不——那不是我們不提供指引的主要原因。我的意思是，你看，我們在第三季時的能見度比現在更高，但我們也沒有完全達到指引區間的中位數。所以我認為，在目前能見度不足的情況下，除非能見度與確定性提高，且我們覺得市場不再是每週都在變動。

We're just not going to provide guidance in that environment because we're real-time. Literally, everything that happens in that quarter shows up in our numbers. And right now, things are moving around so much in so many different ways. So less about the inventory by other competitors and more about just the macro environment.

在那樣的環境下，我們就不會提供指引，因為我們是即時反映的。基本上，那一季發生的所有事情都會直接反映在我們的數字上。而現在，各種事情在很多不同面向上變動都非常大。所以與其說是其他競爭對手的庫存問題，不如說是整體宏觀環境的因素。

Got it. And then the second question I had, from a labor availability standpoint, it sounds like that got tougher for everyone this quarter. Maybe talk about what you are seeing? And is it having any impact on your 60-day commitment that you have with buyers?

了解。那我第二個問題，從勞動力供給的角度來看，聽起來這一季對所有人都變得更吃緊。能否談談你們看到的情況？以及這是否對你們對買方的 60 天承諾造成任何影響？

We're seeing similar evidence of this activity, not only watching our own sites, but our competitor sites. But fortunately, given sort of our operating model, all specs, repeatable product, no design studio, et cetera, the actual impact of that has been pretty negligible at all.

我們看到類似的活動跡象，不僅是觀察我們自己的工地，也包括競爭對手的工地。但幸運的是，考量到我們的營運模式——全是現房、可重複的產品、沒有設計中心等等——實際影響幾乎可以說是微乎其微。

A couple of locations here and there, but really at an enterprise level, we're not seeing it. So as we sit here today, we see the activity, but it hasn't impacted our cycle times. Okay. Thank you, operator. I'd like to thank everyone who joined our call today for your continued interest in Meritage Homes. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and a great weekend. Thank you so much.

個別幾個地點偶爾會有，但就整體企業層級而言，我們沒有看到這種情況。所以以我們今天的狀況來看，我們看得到這些活動，但它並沒有影響我們的週期時間。好的。謝謝接線員。我要感謝今天參加電話會議的各位，持續關注 Meritage Homes。祝各位今天剩下的時間愉快，也祝週末愉快。非常感謝。

This concludes today's Meritage Homes third quarter 2026 analyst call. Please disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day.

今天的 Meritage Homes 2026 年第三季分析師電話會議到此結束。請現在掛斷您的電話線，祝您有美好的一天。