普爾特房屋 (PHM) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Audra, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the PulteGroup Inc. Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Jim Zeumer, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早上好。我叫 Audra，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線員。此時，我想歡迎大家參加 PulteGroup Inc. 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。 （操作員說明）此時，我想將會議轉交給投資者關係副總裁 Jim Zeumer。請繼續。

Great. Thank you, Audra. Good morning. I want to thank everyone for joining today's call. As you read in this morning's press release, PulteGroup had an exceptional first quarter, and we are excited to discuss our operating and financial results. Participating on today's call, Ryan Marshall, President and CEO; and Bob O'Shaughnessy, Executive Vice President and CFO; and Jim Ossowski, Senior Vice President, Finance. A copy of our earnings release and this morning's presentation slides have been posted to our corporate website at pultegroup.com. We'll post an audio replay of this call later today.

偉大的。謝謝你，奧德拉。早上好。我要感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。正如您在今天上午的新聞稿中讀到的那樣，PulteGroup 第一季度表現出色，我們很高興討論我們的運營和財務業績。參加今天的電話會議的是總裁兼首席執行官 Ryan Marshall； Bob O'Shaughnessy，執行副總裁兼首席財務官；和財務高級副總裁 Jim Ossowski。我們的收益發布副本和今天上午的演示幻燈片已發佈到我們的公司網站 pultegroup.com。我們將在今天晚些時候發布這次通話的音頻重播。

As noted in this morning's earnings release, to be more consistent with industry reporting practices, effective with our first quarter 2023 reporting, the company has reclassified closing cost incentives and cost of sales to net revenues for all periods presented. This reclassification impacted the company's reported home sale revenues and associated average sales price as well as home sale gross margin and SG&A percentages, but had no impact on reported earnings. An analysis of the impacts on the current quarter in comparable prior year period is included in this morning's press release and can be found in our webcast slides associated with today's call.

正如今天上午的收益報告所述，為了與我們 2023 年第一季度的報告更加符合行業報告慣例，公司已將結算成本激勵和銷售成本重新分類為所有期間的淨收入。這種重新分類影響了公司報告的房屋銷售收入和相關的平均銷售價格以及房屋銷售毛利率和 SG&A 百分比，但對報告的收益沒有影響。今天上午的新聞稿中包含了與去年同期相比對當前季度影響的分析，也可以在與今天的電話會議相關的網絡廣播幻燈片中找到。

Our comments today reflect these changes for all periods referenced. Also, I want to inform everyone that today's discussion includes forward-looking statements about the company's expected future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those suggested by our comments today. The most significant risk factors that could affect future results are summarized as part of today's earnings release within the accompanying presentation slides.

我們今天的評論反映了所有參考期間的這些變化。另外，我想通知大家，今天的討論包括有關公司預期未來業績的前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與我們今天的評論所建議的結果大不相同。可能影響未來結果的最重要的風險因素在隨附的演示幻燈片中作為今天收益發布的一部分進行了總結。

These risk factors and other key information are detailed in our SEC filings, including our annual and quarterly reports. Now let me turn the call over to Ryan. Ryan?

這些風險因素和其他關鍵信息在我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中有詳細說明，包括我們的年度和季度報告。現在讓我把電話轉給瑞安。賴安？

Thanks, Jim, and good morning. Based on the improving demand dynamics, we experienced in the fourth quarter of last year, we were cautiously optimistic heading into 2023. I am extremely pleased to report the market momentum that began building in Q4 continued to expand in the first -- into the first quarter of 2023. Today's stronger market conditions, combined with actions implemented by our outstanding field teams to enhance our competitive position helped drive our first -- strong first quarter results that included a 15% growth in home sale revenues, a 100 basis point increase in operating margin and a 28% increase in earnings per share.

謝謝，吉姆，早上好。基於我們在去年第四季度經歷的不斷改善的需求動態，我們對進入 2023 年持謹慎樂觀的態度。我非常高興地報告，從第四季度開始建立的市場勢頭在第一季度繼續擴大——進入第一季度2023 年季度。今天更強勁的市場條件，加上我們優秀的現場團隊為提高我們的競爭地位而採取的行動，幫助推動了我們第一季度的強勁業績，其中包括房屋銷售收入增長 15%，銷售額增長 100 個基點營業利潤率和每股收益增長 28%。

Among the actions we've taken has been to increase our production of spec homes, a strategy we began implementing in the back half of 2022. As discussed on previous earnings calls, we made the decision to increase spec starts as we saw the opportunity to realize a number of strategic benefits within our homebuilding operations. With more units in production, we can better meet buyer demand as more consumers are seeking quick move-in homes as a hedge against rising mortgage rates.

我們採取的行動包括增加規格房的產量，這是我們在 2022 年下半年開始實施的一項戰略。正如在之前的財報電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們決定增加規格房的開工，因為我們看到了機會在我們的房屋建築業務中實現許多戰略利益。隨著更多單位的生產，我們可以更好地滿足買家的需求，因為越來越多的消費者正在尋求快速入住的房屋，以對沖抵押貸款利率上升的風險。

By maintaining the level of spec starts, we can commit to a more consistent start cadence. This is particularly valuable in today's environment when negotiating with our trades and suppliers. Keeping units in production allows us to turn assets more efficiently, which is critical to delivering high returns over the housing cycle. The importance of having an appropriate inventory of spec homes available can be seen in our first quarter sign-ups, which on a gross basis, increased 1% over last year to 8,900 homes.

通過保持規範啟動的水平，我們可以致力於更一致的啟動節奏。這在當今環境下與我們的貿易商和供應商談判時特別有價值。保持單元的生產使我們能夠更有效地周轉資產，這對於在住房週期內提供高回報至關重要。從我們第一季度的註冊量中可以看出擁有適當的規格房屋庫存的重要性，從總量上看，這一數字比去年增加了 1%，達到 8,900 套。

Of these sign-ups, almost 60% were spec sales, so the decision to increase spec starts was the right one. That said, I want to be clear that our strategy is to keep starts directionally in alignment with market demand. We believe this balanced approach is consistent with both these historic business practices and allows us to turn our assets, while maintaining a better margin profile.

在這些註冊中，近 60% 是規格銷售，因此增加規格啟動的決定是正確的。也就是說，我想明確一點，我們的戰略是根據市場需求定向啟動。我們相信這種平衡的方法符合這兩種歷史性的商業慣例，並使我們能夠轉變我們的資產，同時保持更好的利潤率。

Our first quarter results show that we are successfully executing against this strategy as we realized strong sales, while still delivering exceptional gross margins of 29.1%. You've heard me say that we won't be margin proud, but we also won't sacrifice profits if we don't have to. By being more measured in our starts cadence, we can meet buyer demand, while not oversupplying the market.

我們第一季度的業績表明，我們成功地執行了這一戰略，因為我們實現了強勁的銷售，同時仍實現了 29.1% 的超高毛利率。你聽我說過，我們不會以利潤為榮，但如果沒有必要，我們也不會犧牲利潤。通過更多地衡量我們的啟動節奏，我們可以滿足買家的需求，同時不會讓市場供過於求。

Case in point, we ended the first quarter with 1,500 fewer specs in production than we started the quarter. This gives us flexibility to maintain or increase production volumes, which in today's market is an important lever, when working with trades and suppliers. As it relates to overall housing demand, home sales are benefiting from recent declines in mortgage rates, but I also think just having a general sense of stability in rates is important to consumer confidence.

舉個例子，我們在第一季度結束時生產的規格比本季度開始時少了 1,500 個。這使我們能夠靈活地維持或增加產量，這在當今市場上是與貿易商和供應商合作時的一個重要槓桿。由於與整體住房需求相關，房屋銷售受益於近期抵押貸款利率的下降，但我也認為，對利率的總體穩定感對消費者信心很重要。

Given improvements in demand conditions in the broader interest rate environment as well as a generally limited inventory of existing homes, we are starting to see the pressure on selling prices ease in many of our markets. In fact, and well over half of our markets, we have found opportunities to pull back on incentives and/or move prices higher in many of our communities. While the price changes are modest, it demonstrates the point that people desire home ownership and are willing to buy when they see a value.

鑑於更廣泛的利率環境下需求狀況的改善以及現有房屋庫存普遍有限，我們開始看到我們許多市場的售價壓力有所緩解。事實上，在我們超過一半的市場中，我們已經找到機會在我們的許多社區中取消激勵措施和/或提高價格。雖然價格變化不大，但它表明人們渴望擁有房屋並在看到價值時願意購買。

Earlier this month, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that looked at the housing shortage in this country. The article raised the point that depending upon which expert you ask, the housing shortage ranges from 2 million to 7 million houses. While there are certainly debates about the number, I think there is broad agreement that we have a housing shortage. I believe this is one of the reasons homebuyers are quick to respond when affordability pressures can be eased.

本月早些時候，《華爾街日報》發表了一篇文章，探討了這個國家的住房短缺問題。文章提出，根據你問的專家，住房短缺從200萬到700萬不等。雖然對這個數字肯定存在爭論，但我認為人們普遍認為我們存在住房短缺問題。我相信這是購房者在負擔能力壓力得到緩解時迅速做出反應的原因之一。

Before turning the call over to Bob, let me take a minute to address impacts on credit availability given recent disruptions in the banking industry, particularly among the regional banks. The short answer is that we have not experienced any disruptions. On the mortgage side, we are advantaged by having a captive financial services operation that routinely originates mortgages for between 75% to 80% of Pulte homebuyers that require financing.

在將電話轉給 Bob 之前，讓我花一分鐘時間來談談鑑於銀行業最近出現的中斷，特別是區域性銀行對信貸可用性的影響。簡短的回答是我們沒有遇到任何中斷。在抵押貸款方面，我們擁有專屬金融服務業務的優勢，該業務通常為 75% 至 80% 需要融資的普爾特購房者提供抵押貸款。

On the project side, big builders such as PulteGroup, self-fund or have access to capital that smaller builders typically cannot match. In the end, it may be that recent disturbances in the banking sector may create opportunities for PulteGroup to put its more than $2 billion in total liquidity to work. I am very proud of our team as PulteGroup delivered exceptional operating and financial results in the quarter.

在項目方面，PulteGroup 等大型建築商自籌資金或獲得小型建築商通常無法匹敵的資金。最後，最近銀行業的動盪可能會為 PulteGroup 創造機會，使其超過 20 億美元的總流動資金發揮作用。我為我們的團隊感到非常自豪，因為 PulteGroup 在本季度交付了出色的運營和財務業績。

I'm also highly encouraged by the improving demand conditions we have been experiencing over the past 2 quarters. And I would add that buyer demand has remained strong through the first few weeks of April. While we have and will continue to take steps to best position PulteGroup for success within today's changing market dynamics, we remain measured and disciplined in our actions.

我也對過去兩個季度我們經歷的需求狀況改善感到非常鼓舞。我還要補充一點，買家需求在 4 月的前幾週一直保持強勁。雖然我們已經並將繼續採取措施使 PulteGroup 在當今不斷變化的市場動態中取得成功，但我們在行動中保持謹慎和自律。

From production rates and land spend to overheads and share repurchases, we remain focused on delivering performance over the long term. Now let me turn the call over to Bob for a detailed review of the quarter.

從生產率和土地支出到管理費用和股票回購，我們始終專注於提供長期績效。現在讓我把電話轉給鮑勃，讓他對本季度進行詳細審查。

Thanks, Ryan, and good morning. As Jim noted at the beginning of the call, we have reclassified closing cost incentives from cost of sales to net revenues for all periods presented. The total incentive reclassified amounted to $81 million in the first quarter of this year and $38 million in the first quarter of last year. This reclassification impacted our reported home sales revenue and associated average sales prices as well as our reported home sale gross margin and SG&A percentage.

謝謝，瑞安，早上好。正如吉姆在電話會議開始時指出的那樣，我們已將關閉成本激勵措施從銷售成本重新分類為所有期間的淨收入。今年第一季度重新分類的激勵總額為 8100 萬美元，去年第一季度為 3800 萬美元。這種重新分類影響了我們報告的房屋銷售收入和相關的平均銷售價格以及我們報告的房屋銷售毛利率和 SG&A 百分比。

An analysis of the impact of this reclassification in the current quarter, and prior year periods is included in today's webcast slides. Where appropriate, any numbers referenced in my comments, current, past or future are inclusive of this reclass. Let me now get started with a review of our first quarter results.

今天的網絡廣播幻燈片中包含對本季度和上一年期間重新分類影響的分析。在適當的情況下，我的評論中引用的任何數字，無論是當前的、過去的還是未來的，都包含在這次重新分類中。現在讓我開始回顧我們的第一季度業績。

Home sale revenues in the first quarter increased 15% over the prior year to a first quarter record of $3.5 billion. Higher revenues for the period reflected 6% increase in closings to 6,394 homes and a 9% increase in average sales price to $545,000. On a year-over-year basis, we realized higher average sales prices across all buyer groups, led by double-digit gains in both move-up and active adult.

第一季度的房屋銷售收入比上年同期增長 15%，達到創紀錄的 35 億美元。這一時期的收入增加反映了關閉房屋數量增加 6% 至 6,394 套以及平均銷售價格增加 9% 至 545,000 美元。與去年同期相比，我們實現了所有買家群體的平均銷售價格均有所提高，其中升級和活躍成人的兩位數漲幅居首。

In the quarter, we reported 6,394 closings, which represents a 6% increase over the comparable prior year period. Our closings for the quarter came in above our guide as we capitalized on stronger demand for spec homes an improvement in select areas of our supply chain that allowed us to close additional homes in the period. I'd like to take a moment to thank our procurement and construction teams working in partnership with our trades and suppliers for their contributions over the last several quarters.

本季度，我們報告了 6,394 筆交易，比去年同期增長了 6%。我們本季度的關閉量高於我們的指導，因為我們利用了對規格房屋的強勁需求以及我們供應鏈的特定領域的改善，使我們能夠在此期間關閉更多房屋。我想花點時間感謝我們的採購和施工團隊與我們的貿易和供應商合作，感謝他們在過去幾個季度中所做的貢獻。

Their efforts during a time of extraordinary market volatility were instrumental to the operating success we have achieved. Looking at the mix of our closings in the quarter, our results included 39% from first-time buyers, 35% from move-up buyers and 26% from active adult. In the first quarter of last year, the closing mix was 34% first-time, 40% move-up and 26% active adult.

他們在異常市場波動時期的努力對我們取得的經營成功起到了重要作用。看看我們本季度的成交組合，我們的結果包括 39% 來自首次購房者，35% 來自升級買家，26% 來自活躍的成年人。去年第一季度，成交組合為 34% 首次入住、40% 升遷和 26% 活躍成人。

The higher percentage of closings from first-time buyers reflects our increased investment in that part of our business over the last several years, as well as an increase in the availability of spec homes in our first-time communities, resulting from our decision to increase spec production in the back half of 2022.

首次購房者關閉的百分比較高反映了我們在過去幾年中對該部分業務的投資增加，以及我們決定增加首次購房者社區中規格房屋的可用性增加2022 年下半年的規格生產。

Looking at our orders in the quarter, our net new orders totaled 7,354 homes, which is down 8% from the prior year. Our cancellation rate as a percentage of beginning backlog was 13% in the first quarter, which is up from 4% last year. On a sequential basis, the 13% cancellation rate is up less than 200 basis points from the fourth quarter. So cancellations are beginning to stabilize.

從我們本季度的訂單來看，我們的淨新訂單總計 7,354 套，比去年同期下降 8%。我們的取消率在第一季度佔開始積壓的百分比為 13%，高於去年的 4%。按順序計算，13% 的取消率比第四季度上升了不到 200 個基點。所以取消開始穩定下來。

In fact, on a unit basis, cancellations in this quarter amounted to 1,544 homes, which is down sequentially from 1,871 homes in the fourth quarter. By buyer group, net new orders to first-time buyers increased 18% over the prior year to 3,177 homes, while move-up orders decreased by 20% to 2,645 homes, and active adult orders were lower by 22% to 1,532 homes. Our average community count in the first quarter increased 13% over last year to 879.

事實上，按單位計算，本季度取消的房屋數量為 1,544 套，較第四季度的 1,871 套有所下降。按買家群體劃分，首次購房者的淨新訂單比上年增長 18% 至 3,177 套，而升級訂單減少 20% 至 2,645 套，活躍的成人訂單減少 22% 至 1,532 套。我們在第一季度的平均社區數量比去年增加了 13%，達到 879 個。

Based on the communities opened in the period, our absorption pace of 2.8 homes per month was down from the prior year, but in line with our pre-pandemic sales rate, which averaged 2.7 for the 5-year period from 2016 to 2020. Based on land investments we made in prior years, we expect to operate out of approximately 900 communities in the second quarter, which would represent an increase of 14% over the second quarter of last year.

根據在此期間開設的社區，我們每月吸納 2.8 套房屋的速度比上一年有所下降，但與我們大流行前的銷售率一致，即 2016 年至 2020 年的 5 年期間平均為 2.7 套。基於關於我們前幾年進行的土地投資，我們預計第二季度將在大約 900 個社區中開展業務，這將比去年第二季度增長 14%。

Looking over the balance of the year, we continue to expect community count growth of 5% to 10% over the comparable prior year quarter. Given our expanding community count, PulteGroup is well positioned to increase its market share within the improving demand environment. We ended the first quarter with a backlog of 13,129 homes with a value of $8 billion. This compares with last year's Q1 record backlog of 19,935 homes valued at $11.5 billion. At the end of the first quarter, we had a total of 16,872 homes under construction, of which 15% were finished. Spec units represented 38% of our production, which is up from last year and consistent with our strategy to have specs available to meet buyer demand for homes that can close sooner.

回顧今年的餘額，我們繼續預計社區數量將比去年同期增長 5% 至 10%。鑑於我們不斷擴大的社區數量，PulteGroup 有能力在不斷改善的需求環境中增加其市場份額。第一季度結束時，我們積壓了 13,129 套房屋，價值 80 億美元。相比之下，去年第一季度創紀錄的積壓房屋數量為 19,935 套，價值 115 億美元。第一季度末，我們共有 16,872 套在建房屋，其中 15% 已完工。規格單位占我們產量的 38%，比去年有所上升，這符合我們的戰略，即提供規格以滿足買家對可以更快關閉的房屋的需求。

Over the course of the first quarter, we started production on approximately 5,200 homes. This start rate was down about 40% from the first quarter of last year, but up on a sequential basis from the fourth quarter of 2022 as we continue to drive an appropriate start cadence as we focus on turning our assets. Based on the roughly 17,000 homes we have under construction and their stage of production, we expect to deliver between 7,000 and 7,400 homes in the second quarter.

在第一季度，我們開始生產大約 5,200 套住宅。這一開工率比去年第一季度下降了約 40%，但從 2022 年第四季度開始環比上升，因為我們在專注於轉變資產的同時繼續推動適當的開工節奏。根據我們在建的大約 17,000 套房屋及其生產階段，我們預計第二季度將交付 7,000 至 7,400 套房屋。

Given the ongoing improvement in the overall operating environment, we're pleased by the level of production we've been able to realize, thanks to the efforts of our outstanding operating teams. In addition to these higher unit volumes, we are also seeing the beginning stages of a shortening in our production cycle. At this point, depending upon the market, the gains range from just a few days to a few weeks, but the trends are generally positive. Based on our strong Q1 results and the potential for cycle times to gradually improve, the production potential of homes will have available to close in 2023 has increased to 27,000, 28,000 homes. This is up from our initial guide of 25,000 homes.

鑑於整體運營環境的持續改善，我們對我們能夠實現的生產水平感到滿意，這要歸功於我們出色的運營團隊的努力。除了這些更高的單位產量外，我們還看到了生產週期縮短的開始階段。此時，根據市場情況，漲幅從幾天到幾週不等，但趨勢總體上是積極的。根據我們強勁的第一季度業績和周期時間逐漸改善的潛力，2023 年可供關閉的房屋生產潛力已增加到 27,000 套、28,000 套。這高於我們最初的 25,000 戶家庭指南。

Obviously, the strength of sign-ups in the second quarter will go a long way in determining how much of this production universe actually converts into 2023 closings. While the average sales price in our backlog is $608,000, we currently expect the average sales price to our second quarter closings to be in the range of $525,000 to $535,000. That estimate reflects both the mix of homes scheduled to close as well as the impact of anticipated spec closings, which are primarily first-time loans that have a lower average sales price.

顯然，第二季度的註冊強度將在很大程度上決定這個生產領域有多少實際轉化為 2023 年的關閉。雖然我們積壓的平均銷售價格為 608,000 美元，但我們目前預計第二季度成交的平均銷售價格在 525,000 美元至 535,000 美元之間。該估計既反映了計劃關閉的房屋組合，也反映了預期關閉的影響，這些關閉主要是平均銷售價格較低的首次貸款。

We reported first quarter gross margin of 29.1%, which was 20 basis points below last year. Please note that our reported gross margins in the first quarter benefited by approximately 70 basis points from the reclass of closing incentives and cost of sales to net revenue. The benefit to our first quarter 2022 gross margin was 40 basis points. I would highlight that in the current quarter, our margins benefited from our move-up and active adult business where pressures on our selling prices have been relatively less impactful compared with entry-level homes.

我們報告第一季度毛利率為 29.1%，比去年低 20 個基點。請注意，我們報告的第一季度毛利率受益於將關閉獎勵和銷售成本重新分類為淨收入約 70 個基點。我們 2022 年第一季度毛利率的收益為 40 個基點。我要強調的是，在本季度，我們的利潤率受益於我們的升級和活躍的成人業務，與入門級住宅相比，我們的售價壓力相對較小。

After several years of gross margin parity across buyer groups, we are seeing a reversion to the historic trend of higher margins in our move-up and active adult business. Based on the mix of homes we plan to close in the second quarter, we expect gross margins to be in the range of 27.5% to 28%. As with our closings and reported margins in the first quarter, deliveries in the second quarter will reflect the benefit of lower lumber costs that are flowing through our operations.

經過幾年跨買家群體的毛利率平價，我們看到我們的升級和活躍成人業務的利潤率更高的歷史趨勢正在回歸。根據我們計劃在第二季度關閉的房屋組合，我們預計毛利率將在 27.5% 至 28% 之間。與我們第一季度的成交量和報告的利潤率一樣，第二季度的交付將反映出我們運營中木材成本降低的好處。

In the first quarter, we reported SG&A expense of $337 million or 9.6% of home sale revenues. In the comparable prior year period, our SG&A expense was $329 million or 10.9% of home sale revenues. Higher closings and associated revenues in this year's first quarter drove the improved overhead leverage relative to last year and our guide. With expected 2023 production volumes moving higher, we are carefully adding sales and construction staff but still expect to maintain overhead leverage.

第一季度，我們報告的 SG&A 費用為 3.37 億美元，佔房屋銷售收入的 9.6%。在去年同期，我們的 SG&A 費用為 3.29 億美元，佔房屋銷售收入的 10.9%。與去年和我們的指南相比，今年第一季度更高的成交量和相關收入推動了間接槓桿率的提高。隨著 2023 年產量的預期上升，我們正在謹慎地增加銷售和建築人員，但仍預計將保持管理費用槓桿。

As such, we expect second quarter SG&A to be in the range of 9.0% to 9.5%. In the first quarter, our financial services operations reported pretax income of $14 million, which is down from $41 million in the prior year. Pretax income in the period was impacted by lower loan volumes competitive pricing dynamics and higher mortgage incentives being used throughout the industry.

因此，我們預計第二季度的 SG&A 將在 9.0% 至 9.5% 的範圍內。第一季度，我們的金融服務業務報告稅前收入為 1,400 萬美元，低於上年的 4,100 萬美元。該期間的稅前收入受到貸款量減少、競爭性定價動態和整個行業使用更高抵押貸款激勵措施的影響。

In Q1, our capture rate was 78% compared with 81% last year. Market conditions have clearly improved but as we do under all market conditions, we continue to routinely reassess our own planned positions and pending land transactions. Based on this review process, in the first quarter, we walked away from 5,300 lots that were previously held under option and roll off approximately $6 million in associated deposits and pre-acquisition costs.

第一季度，我們的捕獲率為 78%，而去年為 81%。市場條件明顯改善，但正如我們在所有市場條件下所做的那樣，我們繼續定期重新評估我們自己的計劃位置和未決土地交易。根據這一審查流程，在第一季度，我們放棄了之前根據期權持有的 5,300 手地塊，並減少了大約 600 萬美元的相關押金和收購前成本。

In the first quarter, our reported tax expense was $170 million for an effective tax rate of 24.2%. We expect our tax rate in the second quarter to be 24.5%. Our net income for the first quarter was $532 million or $2.35 per share, which is up from prior year net income of $455 million or $1.83 per share. In addition to significantly higher net income, our earnings per share benefited from the company's share repurchase program.

第一季度，我們報告的稅費為 1.7 億美元，有效稅率為 24.2%。我們預計第二季度的稅率為 24.5%。我們第一季度的淨收入為 5.32 億美元或每股 2.35 美元，高於去年同期的 4.55 億美元或每股 1.83 美元的淨收入。除了顯著增加的淨收入外，我們的每股收益還受益於公司的股票回購計劃。

In the first quarter, we repurchased 2.8 million common shares at a cost of $150 million or an average price of $54.30 per share. Consistent with our plans to continue returning excess [shift] funds to our shareholders, our Board has approved an additional $1 billion of share repurchase authorization, bringing the total available under the program to $1.2 billion. Along with returning funds to our shareholders, we continue to strategically invest in our business.

第一季度，我們以 1.5 億美元的成本或平均每股 54.30 美元的價格回購了 280 萬股普通股。根據我們繼續向股東返還多餘 [轉移] 資金的計劃，我們的董事會已批准額外的 10 億美元股票回購授權，使該計劃下可用的總額達到 12 億美元。除了向股東返還資金外，我們還繼續對我們的業務進行戰略投資。

In the first quarter, we invested $906 million of land acquisition and development, down from $1.1 billion in Q1 of last year. Given the stronger demand environment and the increase in our overall construction activities, we now expect to invest between $3.5 billion and $4 billion in land acquisition development in 2023. We ended the period with 210,000 lots under control. This is consistent with year-end and down 10% from last year.

第一季度，我們投資了 9.06 億美元用於土地收購和開發，低於去年第一季度的 11 億美元。鑑於更強勁的需求環境和我們整體建設活動的增加，我們現在預計 2023 年將投資 35 億至 40 億美元用於土地收購開發。我們在這一時期結束時控制了 210,000 塊土地。這與年底一致，比去年下降 10%。

Based on our activity over the past several quarters, 61% of those lots are owned and 49% are optioned. We will continue to seek increased optionality of our land bank with a target of up to 70% of our lots being controlled via option. Reflecting the strength of our first quarter financial results and associated cash flows, we ended the quarter with $1.3 billion of cash, which lowered our net debt to capital ratio to 7.2%. On a gross basis, our debt-to-capital ratio was 18.1%, down from 21.5% at the end of the first quarter last year.

根據我們過去幾個季度的活動，這些地塊中有 61% 為自有，49% 為期權。我們將繼續尋求增加我們土地儲備的可選性，目標是通過期權控制我們多達 70% 的地塊。反映我們第一季度財務業績和相關現金流的實力，我們在本季度結束時擁有 13 億美元現金，這將我們的淨債務與資本比率降至 7.2%。按總額計算，我們的債務資本比率為 18.1%，低於去年第一季度末的 21.5%。

Now let me turn the call back to Ryan for some final comments.

現在讓我把電話轉回給 Ryan，請他作最後的評論。

Thanks, Bob. I think there are a lot of positives to be taken out of our first quarter results, including we delivered record first quarter earnings, driven by higher closings, continued strong gross margins and improved overhead leverage. Overall market conditions continue to improve as we experienced strong demands and are finding opportunities to reduce incentives and/or increase prices in many communities.

謝謝，鮑勃。我認為我們第一季度的業績有很多積極因素，包括我們實現了創紀錄的第一季度收益，這得益於更高的收盤價、持續強勁的毛利率和改善的間接槓桿。整體市場狀況繼續改善，因為我們遇到了強烈的需求，並正在尋找機會減少許多社區的激勵措施和/或提高價格。

Supply chain conditions are stabilizing, and we have seen at least an initial turn towards shorter cycle times. At this point, the gains have been market-specific, but we are optimistic that we've seen a high watermark in terms of construction cycle times.

供應鏈狀況正在穩定，我們至少看到了向更短週期時間的初步轉變。在這一點上，收益是針對特定市場的，但我們樂觀地認為，我們在建設週期時間方面已經看到了一個高水位線。

Our national and local teams are making strides and climb back construction days, which is critical because shortening our cycle time is an important driver to expanding our 2023 production universe. PulteGroup's Board approved another $1 billion increase due to the company's share repurchase authorization. We've bought over -- we have bought back over 40% of our shares and clearly remain committed to the systemic return of bonds to our shareholders.

我們的國家和地方團隊正在取得長足進步並縮短施工天數，這至關重要，因為縮短我們的周期時間是擴大我們 2023 年生產範圍的重要驅動力。由於公司的股票回購授權，PulteGroup 的董事會批准了另外 10 億美元的增資。我們已經買完了——我們已經回購了超過 40% 的股份，並且顯然仍然致力於向我們的股東系統性地回報債券。

One other positive I would highlight is that PulteGroup was once again ranked among the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for. This is our third year on this prestigious list and we again moved higher, climbing from #43 last year to #36 in the most recent ranking. We take pride in being included on this list because it is based on what our employees say about their experience as part of the PulteGroup team.

我要強調的另一個積極因素是 PulteGroup 再次躋身財富 100 強最適合工作的公司之列。這是我們第三年登上這個享有盛譽的榜單，我們再次上升，從去年的第 43 位攀升至最近排名的第 36 位。我們為能被列入這份名單而感到自豪，因為它是基於我們的員工對他們作為 PulteGroup 團隊一員的經歷的評價。

Our success in delivering quality homes and delighting our customers starts and ends with our 6,100 employees dedicated to doing the right thing, taking care of our customers, focusing on quality and lifting the teammates around them. The amazing culture resident in PulteGroup doesn't happen by chance, but rather it comes from a committed effort by every employee to create a world-class culture.

我們在提供優質住宅和取悅客戶方面的成功始於和結束於我們的 6,100 名員工，他們致力於做正確的事、照顧我們的客戶、專注於質量並提升他們周圍的隊友。普爾特集團令人驚嘆的文化並非偶然產生，而是來自每一位員工致力於創造世界一流文化的不懈努力。

I am extremely proud of our team and I want to thank all of our employees, along with our trade partners and suppliers for their tremendous work in helping to deliver another outstanding quarter of operating and financial results. Let me now turn the call back to Jim Zeumer.

我為我們的團隊感到非常自豪，我要感謝我們所有的員工，以及我們的貿易夥伴和供應商，感謝他們為幫助實現又一個出色的經營和財務業績季度所做的巨大工作。現在讓我把電話轉回 Jim Zeumer。

Thanks, Ryan. We're now prepared to open the call for questions, so that we can get to as many questions as possible during the remaining time of the call. (Operator Instructions) Audra, do you want to get the process started. We're prepared for Q&A.

謝謝，瑞安。我們現在準備開始提問，這樣我們就可以在剩餘的通話時間內回答盡可能多的問題。 （操作員說明）奧德拉，你想開始這個過程嗎？我們已準備好進行問答。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

We'll take our first question from John Lovallo at UBS.

我們將從瑞銀的 John Lovallo 那裡回答我們的第一個問題。

The first one is you guys talked about some of the pressure on selling prices easing and the ability to pull back on incentives or even maybe raise prices in some markets. I think 50% of the markets you said -- can you just help us maybe frame which markets you're seeing the greatest opportunity to kind of pull back on the incentives and maybe the markets where it's a little bit more challenging at this point?

第一個是你們談到了一些銷售價格放緩的壓力以及取消激勵措施甚至可能在某些市場提高價格的能力。我想你說的 50% 的市場——你能不能幫助我們確定你認為哪些市場最有可能取消激勵措施，以及目前可能更具挑戰性的市場？

Yes. Sure, John. We're seeing continued strength in the Florida markets, the Southeast markets in Texas would be the 3 kind of regions that I would highlight with strength. Our Midwest business continues to be a steady performer. And then in terms of markets that are more challenging, it would really be the western markets, particularly the ones in the -- the high-priced coastal areas Northern California and Seattle, probably being the 2 that I would highlight.

是的。當然，約翰。我們看到佛羅里達市場持續走強，德克薩斯州的東南市場將是我要強調的三種地區。我們的中西部業務繼續表現穩定。然後就更具挑戰性的市場而言，實際上是西方市場，尤其是北加州和西雅圖的高價沿海地區，可能是我要強調的兩個市場。

Got it. That's helpful. And then recognizing that you guys are not a spec builder, I mean, the quick move-in effort has been -- it's been helpful, and it's been meaningful. Maybe could you just help us outline sort of your thoughts on that today? Where do you see this going? And will this be perhaps a slightly bigger piece of the Pulte business than it has historically?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後認識到你們不是規範制定者，我的意思是，快速遷移的努力一直很有幫助，而且很有意義。也許你能幫我們概述一下你今天對此的想法嗎？你認為這是怎麼回事？這可能會比以往在 Pulte 業務中佔據更大的份額嗎？

Yes, John, I think we've demonstrated exactly that. And I think it shows that when we started really talking about this middle of last year, that specifically with the first-time entry-level business, there was an opportunity to have more homes that were sooner deliveries, which help to alleviate -- it really helped to alleviate pressure around interest rate -- rising interest rates. It helped to alleviate pressure around certainty of when things we're going to deliver and we made the strategic decision to put more spec in the ground.

是的，約翰，我認為我們已經證明了這一點。我認為這表明當我們在去年年中開始真正談論時，特別是對於首次入門級業務，有機會擁有更多更快交付的房屋，這有助於緩解 - 它確實有助於緩解圍繞利率的壓力——利率上升。它有助於緩解圍繞我們何時交付的確定性的壓力，我們做出了製定更多規範的戰略決策。

To your point, we've historically not been a spec builder, but it's never been a 0% of our business. We've always had specs as part of our business, but we made the decision to make it a bigger piece. It got as much as high as about 45% of our total work in process inventory with spec.

就您的觀點而言，我們歷來不是規範制定者，但它從未占我們業務的 0%。我們一直將規格作為我們業務的一部分，但我們決定將其做大。它占我們在製品總庫存的 45% 左右。

And I highlight that number, John, because that matches up pretty well with our Centex business, which is about 40% of our overall business, which is catered towards the entry-level first-time buyer. So in terms of where it goes in the future, we're going to continue to -- as we highlighted in our prepared remarks, match our spec production with what we think the market demand is.

約翰，我強調這個數字，因為這與我們的 Centex 業務非常吻合，後者約占我們整體業務的 40%，主要面向入門級首次購房者。因此，就未來的發展方向而言，我們將繼續——正如我們在準備好的發言中強調的那樣，將我們的規格生產與我們認為的市場需求相匹配。

And right now, that's certainly higher spec production than maybe what we've historically done. It's working for us. And I think this most recent quarter's results are a great example of how that strategy is working.

而現在，這肯定是比我們過去所做的更高規格的生產。它為我們工作。我認為最近一個季度的結果很好地說明了該戰略的運作方式。

We'll go next to Alan Ratner at Zelman.

我們將去 Zelman 的 Alan Ratner 旁邊。

Nice quarter. Following on that last question, I guess, obviously, it seems like you saw a strong demand for the spec inventory you have on the ground. Would you say the momentum you saw in the market overall was similar in your BTO business as well and the skew towards more spec was just a function of where you had the inventory? Or do you still see kind of currently more of a desire for those quick move-in homes versus build-to-order?

不錯的季度。在最後一個問題之後，我想，很明顯，您似乎看到了對當地規格庫存的強勁需求。您是否會說您在 BTO 業務中看到的整體市場勢頭也類似，而偏向更多規格只是您擁有庫存的函數？或者你是否仍然認為目前更需要那些快速入住的房屋而不是按訂單建造的房屋？

Yes, Alan, it's a good question. I would tell you, broadly, we saw strength in all the price points. That being said, there is a higher likelihood of the entry-level buyer transacting at this point in time because they don't have a home to sell. And so they're not hampered by the low interest rate that they may be hanging on to with their existing home. But look, as we've talked in prior calls, life continues to happen for buyers, marriages, more kids, relocations, job promotions all the things that I think create a need for a family and a potential buyer to move into a different home for whatever reason, our move-up and our active adult business, they're certainly benefiting from that as well. We are seeing easing of sales price pressure in both the move-up and the active adult segment, which is allowing us to moderately raise prices and moderately pull back on incentives.

是的，艾倫，這是個好問題。我會告訴你，從廣義上講，我們在所有價格點上都看到了優勢。話雖如此，入門級買家此時進行交易的可能性更高，因為他們沒有房屋可賣。因此，他們不會因為現有房屋的低利率而受到阻礙。但是看，正如我們在之前的電話中所說的那樣，買家的生活繼續發生，婚姻，更多的孩子，搬遷，工作晉升，我認為所有這些都會導致家庭和潛在買家需要搬進另一個家無論出於何種原因，我們的升級和我們活躍的成人業務，他們當然也從中受益。我們看到升級和活躍成人細分市場的銷售價格壓力有所緩解，這使我們能夠適度提高價格並適度取消激勵措施。

And I think that demonstrates some of the strength we're seeing. We intentionally don't build a lot of spec in those price points. We find the debt buyer group. They prefer to have the build-to-order model. But when it comes to our entry-level first-time Centex business, we're leaning in more with the spec first strategy, and it's working for us.

我認為這展示了我們所看到的一些力量。我們有意不在這些價位上建立很多規格。我們找到了債務買家群體。他們更喜歡按訂單生產的模式。但是當談到我們的入門級首次 Centex 業務時，我們更多地傾向於規範優先策略，並且它對我們有用。

Got it. That makes a lot of sense. And I guess on that note, if we think about the price point segmentation and entry level seemingly a bit stronger in the near term. You kind of alluded to this when you talked about the margin differential reverting back to more historical norms where entry-level is a bit of a lower margin but higher turn business for you. How should we think about the margin going forward, assuming the mix of the business kind of continues on this current trajectory?

知道了。這很有意義。而且我猜想，如果我們考慮價格點細分和入門級在短期內似乎會更強一些。當您談到利潤率差異恢復到更多歷史規範時，您有點提到了這一點，在這些規範中，入門級的利潤率有點低，但對您來說是更高的業務。假設業務類型的組合繼續沿著當前的軌跡發展，我們應該如何考慮未來的利潤率？

You guided for margins to be down about 100 bps sequentially, which probably is some of that mix impact there. But can you quantify exactly what that mix looks like today and what it would look like if this mix holds steady here overall for the business?

您指導利潤率連續下降約 100 個基點，這可能是其中的一些混合影響。但是，您能否準確量化今天這種組合的樣子，以及如果這種組合在整個業務中保持穩定會是什麼樣子？

Yes, Alan, it's Bob. We haven't given a guide. Yes, there's a lot of moving pieces out in the market. So we've got pretty good visibility based on our backlog and the sales activity we're seeing. The commentary was -- if you think about the last several years, there's been sort of a compression in margins. And you saw it both in our results and our peers, where some of the folks that were selling entry-level had higher margins than they historically would have -- that was based on availability, pricing dynamics, a lot of different things.

是的，艾倫，是鮑勃。我們沒有給出指南。是的，市場上有很多移動件。因此，根據我們的積壓工作和我們看到的銷售活動，我們獲得了很好的知名度。評論是——如果你想想過去幾年，利潤率有所壓縮。你在我們的結果和我們的同行中都看到了這一點，其中一些銷售入門級產品的人的利潤率高於歷史水平——這是基於可用性、定價動態和許多不同的因素。

What we've now seen is sort of in our book of business, and I think you see it more broadly in the market, that differentiation in margins between first-time move-up and active adult for us, pretty consistent in the most recent quarter with what I would characterize as the norm from several years ago. Obviously, still very strong margins. You can see it both in our results and in our guide.

我們現在看到的是我們的業務手冊，我認為你在市場上更廣泛地看到了，對我們來說，首次晉升和活躍成人之間的利潤率差異，在最近的情況下非常一致四分之一，我認為是幾年前的常態。顯然，利潤率仍然非常強勁。您可以在我們的結果和我們的指南中看到它。

So as you go forward, you heard Ryan say about 40% of our business is targeted at that entry level. That's a little bit richer than it was 4, 5 years ago for us. That was conscious on our part. And so if you think about mix adjusted over time, we'll see a little bit more contribution from a margin perspective, worth it to always highlight we don't underwrite the margin. We are focused on return.

所以當你繼續前進時，你聽到瑞安說我們大約 40% 的業務是針對入門級的。對我們來說，這比 4、5 年前要豐富一些。這對我們來說是有意識的。因此，如果你考慮隨著時間的推移調整組合，我們會從保證金的角度看到更多的貢獻，值得始終強調我們不承保保證金。我們專注於回報。

And you made the point, I'd agree with you. That's a business that typically spins a little faster. So we're able to get the returns out of that business by virtue of that velocity coupled with the margins that we're able to generate.

你說的很對，我同意你的看法。這是一個通常旋轉得更快的企業。因此，我們能夠憑藉這種速度以及我們能夠產生的利潤從該業務中獲得回報。

We'll go next to Stephen Kim at Evercore ISI.

我們將在 Evercore ISI 的 Stephen Kim 旁邊。

Yes, lots of interesting stuff here, encouraging news. Let me -- let's start with the -- with your orders. I'm kind of curious as to whether or not we -- whether you think that absorptions per community over the course of the next year or so, can be higher than the roughly $2.4 billion per month over the course of the year that you did pre-pandemic. And you talked about a production capacity of 27,000 to 28,000, up from what you said last time. But I'm curious, does this assume any continued improvement in cycle times? Or is this literally if things just stayed exactly the way they are right now?

是的，這裡有很多有趣的東西，令人鼓舞的消息。讓我——讓我們從——你的命令開始。我很好奇我們是否——你是否認為在未來一年左右的時間裡每個社區的吸收量會高於你所做的一年中每月大約 24 億美元的吸收量大流行前。你談到了 27,000 到 28,000 的產能，高於你上次所說的。但我很好奇，這是否假設週期時間會持續改善？或者如果事情只是保持現在的樣子，這就是字面上的意思嗎？

So Stephen, let me start with absorptions per community. Going back over the last several quarters, you've heard me talk about, we're not going to be margin proud and that we are going to work and take market share and turn our assets. And I think you've seen us do that. I highlighted in my prepared remarks today, that we're very pleased with the absorptions that we turned out -- the absorptions for a community that we turned out at the first quarter. And we were able to do it at outstanding margins as well. So I think we were successful on both fronts there.

所以斯蒂芬，讓我從每個社區的吸收開始。回顧過去幾個季度，你聽過我說過，我們不會以利潤為榮，我們將努力爭取市場份額並轉變我們的資產。我想你已經看到我們這樣做了。我在今天準備好的發言中強調，我們對我們所產生的吸收非常滿意——我們在第一季度產生的社區吸收。我們也能夠以出色的利潤率做到這一點。所以我認為我們在這兩個方面都取得了成功。

Going forward, we're going to continue to follow that same approach. We think it's really important to continue to turn the assets and to continue to have high -- reasonably high absorptions per community. And we'll combine that with what has been historically best-in-class margin profile. And so we think we've got a lot of the elements of our playbook and our strategy working well.

展望未來，我們將繼續遵循同樣的方法。我們認為繼續轉變資產並繼續保持高——每個社區相當高的吸收率真的很重要。我們將把它與歷史上同類最佳的利潤率相結合。因此，我們認為我們的劇本和戰略中的很多元素都運作良好。

In terms of the second part of your question, remind -- Cycle times. So Stephen, for our total year delivery, what we've highlighted is that we've got a production universe in process with -- what's in process and what we expect to start, it will give us a universe that will allow us to potentially close up to 27,000 to 28,000 homes. We have assumed the cycle times that we are currently seeing.

關於問題的第二部分，請提醒 -- 週期時間。所以斯蒂芬，對於我們全年的交付，我們強調的是我們有一個正在製作的宇宙——正在進行中的東西以及我們期望開始的東西，它將給我們一個宇宙，讓我們有可能關閉多達 27,000 至 28,000 所房屋。我們假設了我們目前看到的周期時間。

So we have not incorporated any improvement. We have seen improvement, and we've incorporated that. We haven't incorporated further improvement. And certainly, we've got lofty goals that we're endeavoring to claw back even more cycle time, but that's going to take a lot of hard work by our teams and our trades and suppliers.

所以我們沒有納入任何改進。我們已經看到了改進，我們已經將其納入其中。我們還沒有納入進一步的改進。當然，我們有遠大的目標，我們正在努力爭取更多的周期時間，但這需要我們的團隊、我們的貿易和供應商付出大量的努力。

Great. And if I could sort of just follow up on that last point, that production capacity of 27,000 to 28,000 is an encouraging number, obviously. And yet, your starts this quarter were a little on the lighter side relative to what we had been thinking. And certainly much lower than what you're expecting to close next quarter. So can you talk a little bit about why the start number was kind of where it was? And what gives you confidence that, that number can rise from here? That would be very helpful.

偉大的。如果我可以跟進最後一點，那麼 27,000 到 28,000 的生產能力顯然是一個令人鼓舞的數字。然而，相對於我們一直在想的，你們本季度的開局有點輕鬆。而且肯定比您預期的下個季度收盤價低得多。那麼你能談談為什麼開始號碼是它的位置嗎？是什麼讓你有信心，這個數字可以從這裡上升？那將非常有幫助。

Yes, Stephen, it's a multi-month kind of program that we look at in terms of the -- our starts cadence and what we put into the ground I think it's widely well known that the first 3 months of the quarter tend to be more difficult on the weather side, especially for our businesses in the Midwest and the Northeast. So probably a little bit of an impact on the number being a tad lower, but our forward plans in terms of our starts cadence, that's all wrapped up into the 27,000 to 28,000 unit range kind of production guide.

是的，斯蒂芬，這是一個多月的計劃，我們從開始的節奏和我們投入的內容來看，我認為眾所周知，本季度的前 3 個月往往更多天氣方面很困難，尤其是對我們在中西部和東北部的企業而言。所以可能對數字的影響有點小，但我們在啟動節奏方面的前瞻性計劃，都包含在 27,000 到 28,000 單位範圍的生產指南中。

So I'd probably look at everything in its entirety, not just what we started in Q1, but what was in backlog, what was in production, what we started in Q1, plus the kind of implied Q2 start rate. I think that all -- that all works into the way that we're running the business.

因此，我可能會全面查看所有內容，不僅僅是我們在第一季度開始的工作，還有積壓的工作、生產中的工作、我們在第一季度開始的工作，以及隱含的第二季度啟動率。我認為所有 - 所有這些都適用於我們經營業務的方式。

Okay. So I'm hearing there that you expect 2Q starts to increase. I don't remember -- Bob, did you actually give a starts forecast for 2Q? Because that would be helpful if you had it.

好的。所以我聽說你預計第二季度開始增加。我不記得了——鮑勃，你真的給出了第二季度的開工預測嗎？因為如果你有它會很有幫助。

That's not a number we provided, Stephen.

這不是我們提供的數字，斯蒂芬。

We'll go next to Anthony Pettinari at Citi.

我們將在 Citi 的 Anthony Pettinari 旁邊。

Cancellation rate came down pretty sharply quarter-over-quarter. I'm just wondering, was there a particular month where that step down was most significant? Or was it pretty smooth throughout the quarter? Just wondering if the kind of normalization in cancellation rates is maybe more of a change in overall biopsychology or maybe just reflects kind of the backlog working itself through. Any thoughts there?

取消率環比大幅下降。我只是想知道，是否有一個特定月份的降級最為重要？還是整個季度都很順利？只是想知道取消率的這種正常化是否更多地是整體生物心理學的變化，或者只是反映了某種積壓工作本身。有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. There wasn't -- it wasn't a cliff. It was a pretty consistent cadence. And I think your point is a good one. The consumer has I think, largely now oriented themselves around the stability and rates that Ryan talked about, they're moving, but they're not moving anywhere near as much as they were in the back half of last year. Couple that with the fact that most of the backlog and folks that signed contracts back when rates were much lower and got to a much higher rate at the closing table and the kind of the shock and cancellation impact from that has largely worked through the system.

是的。沒有——那不是懸崖。這是一個非常一致的節奏。我認為你的觀點很好。我認為，消費者現在主要以瑞安談到的穩定性和利率為導向，他們正在移動，但他們的移動幅度沒有去年下半年那麼大。再加上大多數積壓訂單和簽合同的人在利率低得多的時候簽了合同，而在收盤時利率高得多，這種衝擊和取消的影響在很大程度上通過系統發揮了作用。

So I think the combination of those 2 things has the current contracted customer base and people signing contracts today are less sensitive to those rate movements than we saw in the back half of last year. And I think that's why you've seen the can rates. And candidly, the reason we provided it, we had less total cancellations in the first quarter than we did in the fourth, I think for all those reasons.

因此，我認為這兩件事的結合具有當前的合同客戶群，而今天簽訂合同的人對這些利率變動的敏感度低於我們在去年下半年看到的。我認為這就是為什麼你看到了罐頭費率。坦率地說，我們之所以提供它，是因為所有這些原因，我們在第一季度的總取消次數少於第四季度。

Okay. Okay. That's very helpful. And then just from a big picture perspective, when you look at the quarter and think about the drivers of your gross margin [lead] versus your expectations. Was it primarily stronger pricing or executing on the cost side, maybe without cutting it too finally, I'm just wondering what sort of surprised you the most around the quarter?

好的。好的。這很有幫助。然後從大局的角度來看，當您查看本季度並考慮毛利率 [lead] 與您的預期的驅動因素時。它主要是更強大的定價還是在成本方面執行，也許最後也沒有削減它，我只是想知道這個季度最讓你感到驚訝的是什麼？

Yes, I'd like to tell you it's cost, but it really wasn't. I mean that was for the stuff that we closed in the quarter, those costs were baked in. We're working with our trades to find efficiencies going forward. Lumber was obviously a benefit, but we knew that. So that was in our guide. I think it really -- and we highlighted this in our remarks, it was reflective of the sales environment. It was the relatively strong demand. It was our ability to manage our incentive load. So we've had a national mortgage rate buydown program in effect since the beginning of the year. And what we've been able to do is use that as another selling tool.

是的，我想告訴你這是成本，但事實並非如此。我的意思是那是我們在本季度關閉的東西，這些成本已經包含在內。我們正在與我們的交易合作以尋找未來的效率。木材顯然是一種好處，但我們知道這一點。所以這在我們的指南中。我認為它真的 - 我們在我們的評論中強調了這一點，它反映了銷售環境。這是相對強勁的需求。這是我們管理激勵負荷的能力。因此，自今年年初以來，我們實施了一項全國抵押貸款利率回購計劃。我們能夠做的就是將其用作另一種銷售工具。

And so for some people, it's, hey, get my rate as low as you can get it. For others, it's -- I want my rate down a little bit, and I want you to help me with closing costs. The nice part is that, that incentive replaced the incentives that we were offering before as opposed to added to it. And then you couple that with the fact that we highlighted that we were able to stop reducing prices and actually started to increase prices in more than half of our communities.

所以對於某些人來說，嘿，讓我的利率盡可能低。對於其他人來說，它是——我希望我的利率降低一點，我希望你能幫我解決關閉成本。好的部分是，該激勵措施取代了我們之前提供的激勵措施，而不是添加到它。然後你將其與我們強調我們能夠停止降價並實際上開始在我們一半以上的社區中提高價格這一事實相結合。

Now these aren't massive increases, but it's the psychology of sales that relative strength was better than we had forecast in our guide for the quarter and showed up in the margin for the quarter.

現在這些並不是大幅增長，但這是銷售心理，相對強度好於我們在本季度指南中的預測，並顯示在本季度的利潤率中。

We'll move next to Michael Rehaut at JPMorgan.

我們將搬到摩根大通的 Michael Rehaut 旁邊。

First question, I just wanted to zero in a little bit, if possible, on the pricing trends. As you mentioned before, you said that you had increased prices maybe down in about 50% of your markets. Just wanted to get a sense between the reduction or moderation in incentives that you've seen so far year-to-date as well as maybe between that and some of the base price increases. If you could give us a sense of how much pricing -- net pricing has improved from 4Q end to 1Q end?

第一個問題，如果可能的話，我只想將定價趨勢歸零。正如你之前提到的，你說你在大約 50% 的市場中提高了價格，也可能降低了價格。只是想了解您今年迄今為止看到的激勵措施的減少或緩和，以及可能與一些基本價格上漲之間的情況。如果你能告訴我們多少定價——淨定價從第四季度末到第一季度末有所改善？

Yes, Mike, we haven't given that level of granularity. I think the previous question that Bob just answered really highlighted what we've seen, which has been a build of kind of sales momentum if you remember going back to November, December of last year.

是的，邁克，我們還沒有給出那種粒度級別。我認為 Bob 剛剛回答的前一個問題確實突出了我們所看到的，如果你還記得去年 11 月、12 月的話，這已經形成了一種銷售勢頭。

The market was still pretty tough, but we did comment on our year-end report that we had in January that we are starting to see some momentum building in the back half of January or December and into January, we've seen that continue, and that's allowed us to pull back on incentives. It's allowed us to take some very moderate price increases, but it's definitely a change in kind of the sentiment that we're seeing from buyers.

市場仍然很艱難，但我們確實對 1 月份的年終報告發表評論說，我們開始看到在 1 月或 12 月下半月和 1 月開始出現一些勢頭，我們已經看到這種情況仍在繼續，這使我們能夠取消激勵措施。它允許我們進行一些非常適度的價格上漲，但這絕對是我們從買家那裡看到的一種情緒變化。

I think some of that is interest rates stabilizing. I think some of that is the interest rate incentives that we've done. I think a lot of that is kind of buyer psychology. And then the biggest thing as I go back to, we've got a housing shortage in this country, and that hasn't changed. And so in the places where we've been able to demonstrate value, which we've worked very hard to do, we're seeing some nice momentum on the sales floor.

我認為其中一部分是利率穩定。我認為其中一些是我們所做的利率激勵措施。我認為其中很大一部分是買家心理。然後我回到最重要的事情，我們這個國家的住房短缺，而且沒有改變。因此，在我們能夠展示價值的地方，我們已經非常努力地做到這一點，我們在銷售現場看到了一些不錯的勢頭。

And I think you've heard from us, we've seen that continue into April. And that's allowed us to be optimistic and bullish with our forward start projections and some of the things that we're anticipating to be able to do for the balance of the year.

我想你已經收到我們的來信，我們已經看到這種情況一直持續到四月。這讓我們對我們的前瞻性預測以及我們預計在今年餘下時間能夠做的一些事情持樂觀和樂觀態度。

Great. I appreciate that, Ryan. I guess secondly, looking at the gross margins for the second quarter, you're expecting about 100 to 150 bps of potential contraction. Just wanted to get a sense of if that is just due to the lagged impact of higher incentives from the back half of last year.

偉大的。我很感激，瑞安。我想其次，看看第二季度的毛利率，你預計潛在收縮大約 100 到 150 個基點。只是想了解一下這是否只是由於去年下半年更高激勵措施的滯後影響。

And if that -- because I believe you also mentioned that -- if I heard right, and I apologies, if I didn't, but that you're also going to see the benefit of lower lumber costs in the second quarter. But if the driver is that lagged impact of higher incentives from back half of '22, do you feel that, that's mostly -- will have mostly played itself out by the second quarter? Or could there be incremental negative impact in the back half of '23?

如果那 - 因為我相信你也提到過 - 如果我沒聽錯的話，我很抱歉，如果我沒有，但你也會在第二季度看到降低木材成本的好處。但是，如果驅動因素是 22 年後半段更高激勵措施的滯後影響，你是否認為，這主要是 - 將在第二季度大部分發揮作用？或者在 23 世紀的後半段會產生更多的負面影響嗎？

Well, we haven't given a guide beyond Q2. And there's a lot of moving parts in the market. The reason I mentioned that we are only going to go out 1 quarter, we've got lumber. It's ticking up again. That will be later in the year or into next year. It's worth it while looking at the cost environment, we still see inflation.

好吧，我們還沒有給出第二季度之後的指南。市場上有很多活動部件。我提到我們只會出去 1 個季度的原因是我們有木材。它又開始滴答作響了。這將在今年晚些時候或明年進行。從成本環境來看，這是值得的，我們仍然看到通貨膨脹。

We think that it's a little bit lower in rate than we probably projected at the beginning of the year, but we are still feeling cost increases and labor in particular, is pretty sticky. We've talked about that. And obviously, if you look at the production cycle, our land is typically more expensive as we move through time. So we've got incremental cost against a relatively flat at some points during the last 2 quarters, decreasing pricing.

我們認為這比我們年初可能預測的要低一點，但我們仍然感到成本增加，尤其是勞動力，非常棘手。我們已經談過了。顯然，如果你看一下生產週期，我們的土地通常會隨著時間的推移而變得更加昂貴。因此，在過去兩個季度的某些時候，我們的成本相對持平，從而降低了定價。

So I think that's what's actually resulting in the margin decline year-over-year. The strength in the market that we saw last year produced largest we had never seen before, Mike. And this is just a reflection of the reality that costs are up, and we haven't been able to offset all of those to date.

所以我認為這實際上是導致利潤率同比下降的原因。我們去年看到的市場力量產生了我們以前從未見過的最大力量，邁克。這只是成本上升這一現實的反映，迄今為止我們還無法抵消所有這些成本。

Our next question comes from Matthew Bouley at Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Matthew Bouley。

So just thinking about kind of the strength of sales pace during the quarter. Kind of back on the quarter, obviously, there was a period where mortgage rates reached over 7% again. We had the sort of regional banking crisis where perhaps there was some impact on housing activity for a few weeks. I'm curious from Pulte's perspective, did you see kind of impacts to your own sales pace during those periods? Any kind of color on sort of the cadence through the quarter? And as we've kind of moved past that, how is sales pace trending to sort of exit March and into April relative to some of those uncertain periods during the quarter?

因此，只需考慮本季度銷售速度的強度。顯然，在本季度，有一段時期抵押貸款利率再次達到 7% 以上。我們經歷了某種區域性銀行業危機，可能會對幾週的住房活動產生一些影響。從 Pulte 的角度來看，我很好奇，您是否看到了這些時期對您自己的銷售速度的影響？整個季度的節奏有什麼顏色？隨著我們已經過去了，相對於本季度的一些不確定時期，銷售速度如何趨向於退出 3 月和進入 4 月？

Yes, Matt, what we saw in the quarter was a strengthening of sales pace as we move January to February, February to March. Sequentially, sales paces got stronger. And then we've seen April continue to -- the first 3.5 weeks, 3 weeks of April continue to perform at a really strong level. So we're pleased with what we're seeing.

是的，馬特，我們在本季度看到的是我們將 1 月移至 2 月，2 月至 3 月，銷售步伐加快。隨後，銷售步伐變得更加強勁。然後我們看到 4 月繼續 - 前 3.5 週，4 月的 3 周繼續以非常強勁的水平表現。所以我們對我們所看到的感到滿意。

To your point, I think in certain markets, particularly on the West Coast during the banking -- regional banking crisis, I think certain buyer groups in certain cities were probably more impacted psychologically than others. I think most of the things that we are seeing resulting from that have dissipated and we're continuing to see good momentum on the sales support.

就你的觀點而言，我認為在某些市場，特別是在銀行業 - 區域銀行業危機期間的西海岸，我認為某些城市的某些買家群體在心理上受到的影響可能比其他人更大。我認為我們看到的大部分事情已經消散，我們繼續看到銷售支持的良好勢頭。

Got it. And then secondly, you mentioned at the top, some eventual opportunities to sort of put your liquidity to work if credit constraints with smaller builders mount. I guess I'm curious how that might take shape from your perspective, kind of what are you seeing and hearing on the ground today from a competitive perspective versus the smaller builders?

知道了。其次，你在頂部提到，如果小型建築商的信貸限制增加，一些最終的機會可以讓你的流動性發揮作用。我想我很好奇，從您的角度來看，這可能會如何形成，從競爭的角度來看，您今天在實地看到和聽到的是什麼？

Yes, nothing necessarily on the ground yet, Matt. I think we're more being responsive to some of the things that have been widely written about and talked about that the smaller banks that provide operating lines and project-specific financing, that credit has gotten tighter. We are not in a position where we use project-specific financing. We're self-funded for almost everything that we do, and we have the ability to given our size to tap into the public capital markets, if so needed.

是的，馬特，地面上還沒有任何必要的東西。我認為我們對一些被廣泛報導和談論的事情做出了更多的回應，即提供運營線和特定項目融資的小型銀行，信貸變得更加緊縮。我們無法使用針對特定項目的融資。我們所做的幾乎所有事情都是自籌資金的，如果需要的話，我們有能力利用我們的規模進入公共資本市場。

So I think when it comes to land development, land acquisition the desire or the decision to put more spec into the ground. We've got tremendous flexibility because of the way that we're capitalized. And I do think that could potentially give us the opportunity to take advantage of any kind of dislocation that might appear. It's an always-on mindset, which we've always had, not trying to send any kind of a message there other than there was a banking crisis, credit has gotten tighter, and we've got our ears open to any opportunities that, that might create for us.

所以我認為，當涉及到土地開發、土地徵用時，人們希望或決定將更多規格投入土地。由於我們的資本化方式，我們擁有巨大的靈活性。我確實認為這可能會給我們機會利用可能出現的任何一種錯位。這是一種永遠在線的心態，我們一直都有這種心態，除了發生銀行業危機、信貸變得更緊之外，我們不會試圖向那裡發送任何類型的信息，而且我們會傾聽任何機會，這可能會為我們創造。

And we'll move next to Mike Dahl at RBC Capital Markets.

我們將在 RBC Capital Markets 的 Mike Dahl 旁邊移動。

Just a follow-up on the land dynamics and competitive dynamics. You did raise your land spend on the top end is up quite a bit versus last quarter. So I wanted to just ask, is that incorporating any potential flex in acquisition and as you look to take advantage of potential disruptions later this year? Or is that more of kind of a core something changed, either more deals kind of penciling that you thought you'd walk away from or something else going on with either development or aq spend that you care to highlight in terms of that increase in the forecast spend?

只是對土地動態和競爭動態的跟進。與上一季度相比，您確實提高了高端土地支出。所以我只想問，是否在收購中加入了任何潛在的靈活性，以及你希望在今年晚些時候利用潛在的中斷？或者是更多的核心發生了變化，要么是更多的交易類型，你認為你會離開，要么是開發或 aq 支出方面的其他事情，你想強調的是增加預測支出？

Yes. Fair question. That is just our projection of what we see on the ground. And so the increase in absorptions that we've seen the relative stability in pricing gives us a little bit more confidence as we're looking at some of the deal flow that we -- for land transactions, it does not anticipate or incorporate any M&A or anything of that sort that would happen separate from that, and we would evaluate it. But we haven't projected that in the overall increase.

是的。公平的問題。這只是我們對實地所見的預測。因此，我們看到定價相對穩定的吸收增加讓我們更有信心，因為我們正在研究我們的一些交易流程 - 對於土地交易，它不會預期或納入任何併購或任何與此分開發生的事情，我們將對其進行評估。但我們還沒有在整體增長中預測到這一點。

Got it. Okay. And then my follow-up, you called out the order trends by buyer segment, which was pretty interesting. Could you help us understand maybe the community count or absorption by -- buyer segment first-time, move-up, active adult. I think you said that the total was maybe up 18% in first time, but then down in the 20s on the other 2 segments.

知道了。好的。然後是我的後續行動，您按買家細分顯示了訂單趨勢，這非常有趣。您能否幫助我們了解社區的數量或吸收程度——首次購買者、升級者、活躍的成年人。我想你說過第一次總數可能增長了 18%，但隨後在其他 2 個細分市場中下降了 20%。

We haven't given that level of detail in a while. I think from a community count perspective, you've heard us say we're investing in the entry level. So our -- a lot of the growth that you saw, we had growth across all 3 buyer segments in our community count. It was more oriented towards the first-time. And interestingly, then next to the move-up and the active adult is -- those are bigger positions, so they don't we don't have quite as much flexibility in those over time. But the 13% was spread across all, but it was largely in the first-time.

我們已經有一段時間沒有提供那樣詳細的信息了。我認為從社區計數的角度來看，您已經聽過我們說我們正在投資入門級。所以我們 - 你看到的很多增長，我們在社區計數的所有 3 個買家群體中都有增長。它更傾向於第一次。有趣的是，緊隨其後的是活躍的成年人——那些是更大的職位，所以隨著時間的推移，我們在這些職位上沒有那麼多的靈活性。但是這 13% 分佈在所有人身上，但主要是在第一次。

We'll move next to Susan Maklari at Goldman Sachs.

我們將搬到高盛的 Susan Maklari 旁邊。

My first question is talking a bit about the SG&A. You mentioned that you are cautiously adding some headcount there. Can you just give some sense of how that's trending? And where do you expect that, that can go over time as you think about the level of deliveries you're targeting?

我的第一個問題是談談 SG&A。你提到你正在謹慎地在那裡增加一些員工。你能簡單介紹一下它的趨勢嗎？當你考慮你的目標交付水平時，你期望它會隨著時間的推移而消失嗎？

Yes, Sue, I think Bob highlighted in his prepared remarks, just with the increased potential for production in the year. We raised our production potential by 2,000 to 3,000. So we've added sales and construction headcount in the right locations that matches up, where we've been able to kind of turn up the volume there just a little bit. We'll -- I think Bob highlighted, we'll continue to maintain SG&A leverage as a percentage of revenue. So no hidden message there nor should there to be an expectation that you would see dilution to our leverage rates.

是的，蘇，我認為鮑勃在他準備好的發言中強調了今年生產潛力的增加。我們將生產潛力提高了 2,000 到 3,000。因此，我們在匹配的正確位置增加了銷售和建築人員，我們已經能夠稍微提高那裡的數量。我們將 - 我認為 Bob 強調，我們將繼續保持 SG&A 槓桿佔收入的百分比。因此，那裡沒有隱藏的信息，也不應該期望您會看到我們的槓桿率被稀釋。

Okay. And you increased the authorization on the buybacks this quarter as well. Can you talk a bit about your appetite to buy back the stock here? And any thoughts on how you're thinking of the cadence of that going forward?

好的。你也增加了本季度回購的授權。你能談談你在這裡回購股票的胃口嗎？關於您如何看待前進的節奏有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. We don't provide forward guidance, Sue. But in terms of appetite, I think the increased authorization, which we're very pleased our Board made the decision to increase the authorization by $1 billion. I think it shows that we got a continued appetite for this to be a part of our capital allocation philosophy, which has been a consistent part for going on nearly 10 years. So if consistency is a virtue, if it's not, we should make consistency a virtue, I think we're demonstrating that we're living up to the capital allocation philosophy that we've articulated for our shareholders.

是的。蘇，我們不提供前瞻性指導。但就胃口而言，我認為增加授權，我們很高興我們的董事會決定將授權增加 10 億美元。我認為這表明我們一直有興趣將其作為我們資本配置理念的一部分，這在近 10 年的時間裡一直是一致的。因此，如果一致性是一種美德，如果不是，我們應該讓一致性成為一種美德，我認為我們正在證明我們正在踐行我們為股東闡明的資本配置理念。

We'll go next to Dan Oppenheim at Credit Suisse.

我們將去瑞士信貸的 Dan Oppenheim 旁邊。

I was wondering if you can just talk about the West where you talked about some of the tough conditions, how are you thinking about spec at higher price points and where it's more challenging? Are you doing -- do you have much less in terms of spec per community in the West than you have in other regions? I'm just curious how you're handling that?

我想知道你是否可以只談談西方，你談到了一些艱難的條件，你如何看待更高價位的規格以及更具挑戰性的地方？你在做什麼——西方每個社區的規格是否比其他地區少得多？我只是好奇你是如何處理的？

Yes. Dan, in terms of the West, for us, it encompasses the coastal markets, California and Seattle, but also includes Las Vegas, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico. So there is a mix of different cities and geographies and product types in the West. When we get into the coastal markets, we build a lot of multifamily 3- and 4-story product. And so those buildings actually generally start as spec just by the nature. So there is spec there and there's not anything that we're necessarily concerned about.

是的。 Dan，就西方而言，對我們來說，它包括沿海市場，加利福尼亞和西雅圖，還包括拉斯維加斯，內華達州，科羅拉多州，新墨西哥州。因此，西方存在著不同城市、地域和產品類型的混合體。當我們進入沿海市場時，我們建造了很多多戶型的 3 層和 4 層產品。因此，這些建築物實際上通常只是從本質上按照規格開始的。所以那裡有規範，沒有任何我們必須關心的事情。

We have -- I would highlight in the West, we have seen some strengthening in Las Vegas and particularly -- and Phoenix over the last 2 to 3 months. We've actually started to see those markets firm up and start to get back on to some pretty positive sales trends and positive footing. So the 2 places that we're continuing to kind of pay attention to Northern California and Seattle. Those are markets that I think are pretty tech-heavy. The price points are generally higher. Affordability is more challenged.

在過去的 2 到 3 個月裡，我們——我要強調的是在西方，我們看到拉斯維加斯，尤其是鳳凰城有所加強。實際上，我們已經開始看到這些市場堅挺起來，並開始回到一些相當積極的銷售趨勢和積極的基礎上。因此，我們繼續關注的兩個地方是北加州和西雅圖。我認為這些市場技術含量很高。價格點普遍較高。負擔能力面臨更大挑戰。

Also a couple of the areas that are probably more directly impacted by some of the regional bank crisis. So -- but on the whole, we're still very optimistic about the way our West business is positioned just relative to Texas, the Southeast and Florida, those markets have done exceptionally well.

還有一些地區可能更直接地受到某些區域性銀行危機的影響。所以——但總的來說，我們仍然對我們西部業務相對於德克薩斯州、東南部和佛羅里達州的定位方式非常樂觀，這些市場做得非常好。

Sure. Makes sense. And I guess you talked about cycle times coming down. How much -- if we think about the conversion, how much would you say is driven by some improvement in cycle times versus just the specs and then shorter time from contract to closing on those specs?

當然。說得通。我猜你談到了周期時間的下降。有多少——如果我們考慮轉換，你會說有多少是由周期時間的一些改進而不是規格驅動的，然後是從合同到關閉這些規格的更短時間？

Well, Dan, the way we're really looking at is -- we're looking at it from start to final. And certainly, we pay attention to overall cycle time from start to close, which has improved by a quicker flow-through on the spec side. But when we talk about cycle time, it's separate and independent from anything related to a buyer. It's purely within how long does it take us to build a home, and that's where we're starting to see some gains being made, particularly on the front end. So for homes that are going into the ground now we measure it from slab to kind of frame as an example, framing stage.

好吧，丹，我們真正關注的方式是——我們從頭到尾都在關注它。當然，我們關注從開始到結束的整體週期時間，這通過規範方面的更快流程得到改善。但是，當我們談論周期時間時，它與與買家相關的任何事情都是獨立的。這完全取決於我們建造房屋需要多長時間，而這正是我們開始看到取得一些進展的地方，尤其是在前端。因此，對於現在進入地面的房屋，我們從平板到框架的類型進行測量，例如，框架階段。

We're starting to see some pretty meaningful gains out of that front end of construction. The back end of the homes that are finishing now. They're still -- those homes are still on longer cycle times, but we would expect to extend the gains that we -- we're recognizing currently on the front end. As those homes get into the back-end trades, we'd expect to pick up time there as well.

我們開始從前端建設中看到一些非常有意義的收益。現在正在裝修的房屋的後端。他們仍然 - 那些房屋的周期時間仍然更長，但我們希望擴大我們 - 我們目前在前端認識到的收益。隨著這些房屋進入後端交易，我們希望在那裡也能抓緊時間。

Great. Yes, I was thinking about in terms of the backlog conversion on -- from those 2 issues.

偉大的。是的，我在考慮這兩個問題的積壓轉換。

Next, we'll move to Truman Patterson at Wolfe Research.

接下來，我們將轉到 Wolfe Research 的 Truman Patterson。

First on the entry-level orders, I believe you all said were up like 18% year-over-year. That's quite a bit stronger than where we think underlying entry-level spec demand is. Could you help us understand that a little bit? Is it easier comps, community, location? Have you all early in 1Q -- did you bring incentives more in line with the market, et cetera? Just trying to understand that result a little bit better. And then -- could you help us understand just where overall absorption stood exiting the quarter in March?

首先是入門級訂單，我相信你們都說同比增長了 18%。這比我們認為潛在的入門級規格需求強得多。你能幫我們理解一下嗎？它更容易補償、社區、位置嗎？你們在 1Q 的早期都有嗎——你們是否提供了更符合市場的激勵措施，等等？只是想更好地理解這個結果。然後 - 你能幫助我們了解 3 月份退出該季度的總體吸收情況嗎？

I was going to say it's hard to react to that. I think what we've seen reflected in our results is that we started a fair number of homes that were speculative last year. They were available, and we've been able to sell them. We -- I wouldn't characterize it as a huge incentive.

我想說很難對此做出反應。我認為我們在結果中看到的反映是，我們去年開辦了相當多的投機房屋。它們是可用的，我們已經能夠出售它們。我們——我不會將其描述為巨大的激勵。

I mentioned earlier, we have a national rate buydown, and it is probably most appealing to that buyer group. But it probably is only a relatively small percentage of our total population of signups that actually took that. They may have other things that are more important to some buyers.

我之前提到過，我們有一個全國性的利率回購，這可能對那個買家群體最有吸引力。但在我們的註冊總人數中，可能只有一小部分人真正接受了。他們可能還有其他對某些買家更重要的東西。

The one thing Truman, that I think I'd probably highlight is that our entry-level product tends to be on the higher side of the price -- the entry level price band, the locations are excellent. And so I think we've got a well-located product that's still within the affordable range that appeals to a first-time entry-level buyer. And so if our performance exceeds maybe kind of what you're expecting, my guess is on a relative basis, that's probably some of the strength as we've got excellent locations for those entry-level communities.

杜魯門的一件事，我想我可能會強調的是，我們的入門級產品往往價格較高——入門級價格區間，位置非常好。因此，我認為我們的產品位置優越，價格仍在可承受範圍內，吸引了首次入門級買家。因此，如果我們的表現可能超出您的預期，我的猜測是相對而言，這可能是我們的一些優勢，因為我們為那些入門級社區提供了絕佳的位置。

And then as far as kind of the exit rate for the quarter, that's not a number that we've quoted. I did highlight, though, on one of the previous questions, we saw absorption strength progress as we move through the quarter. So March was our highest sales and the highest absorption rate of the quarter. We've seen strength continue as we've moved into April.

然後就本季度的退出率而言，這不是我們引用的數字。不過，我確實強調，在前面的一個問題上，我們看到了在本季度移動時吸收強度的進步。所以三月份是我們最高的銷售額和最高的季度吸收率。進入 4 月後，我們看到實力繼續增強。

Perfect. And then can you provide an update on the strategic relationship with Invitation? I'm just wondering if that might have been pushed back a little bit in the current environment with higher rates and higher cap rates?

完美的。然後您能否提供與 Invitation 的戰略關係的最新信息？我只是想知道在當前具有更高利率和更高資本化率的環境中，這是否可能會被推遲一點？

Yes. We're very happy with the relationship that we have with Invitation. And I'd probably answer the question more broadly about single-family rental. We've made it a small part of our overall production environment. We're looking at opportunities where we can provide a very, very small number of our total deliveries to the build-for-rent operators, Invitation being a big part of that. So we're happy with how it's performing. We talked about it being something in the range once we get the full capacity of about 5% of our annual deliveries. We're still on track as we get this ramped up that that's about what it will be, and we're pretty comfortable with that.

是的。我們對與 Invitation 的關係感到非常滿意。我可能會更廣泛地回答有關單戶出租的問題。我們已將其作為整體生產環境的一小部分。我們正在尋找機會，我們可以向建築租賃運營商提供我們總交付量中非常非常小的數量，邀請是其中很大一部分。所以我們對它的表現很滿意。我們談到，一旦我們的年交付量達到約 5% 的全部產能，它就會在這個範圍內。我們仍然在正軌上，因為我們正在逐步提高這將是什麼，我們對此感到非常滿意。

We'll take our final question from Rafe Jadrosich at Bank of America.

我們將接受來自美國銀行的 Rafe Jadrosich 的最後一個問題。

I just wanted to follow-up on some of the comments on the tighter credit. Can you talk about the potential impact to your land developers? Are you seeing any stress out there? And could that have any impact on your ability to option? Or would you have to support your partners or take on more lots for yourself?

我只是想跟進一些關於收緊信貸的評論。您能談談對您的土地開發商的潛在影響嗎？你看到那裡有壓力嗎？這會對您的選擇能力產生任何影響嗎？還是您必須支持您的合作夥伴或為自己承擔更多？

Yes. Candidly, no, most of the folks that we work with are pretty well capitalized. They are big developers in their market. And the truth is that we self-develop a great deal of the land that we control anyway. We are not -- the vast majority of our business is actually self-funded. So -- but for those deals where we've got partners, they are typically pretty well capitalized.

是的。坦率地說，不，與我們合作的大多數人都資本充足。他們是市場上的大開發商。事實上，無論如何，我們自己開發了大量我們控制的土地。我們不是——我們的絕大部分業務實際上是自籌資金的。所以——但對於那些我們有合作夥伴的交易，他們通常資本充足。

That's helpful. And then you mentioned earlier that the improving sales environment contributed to the gross margin upside versus your expectation was the stronger sales improving traffic or better conversion or like a combination of both? Any color you can give on sort of quantifying which one of those drove upside to your initial expectation?

這很有幫助。然後你之前提到，銷售環境的改善有助於毛利率上升，而你的預期是更強勁的銷售增加流量或更好的轉化率或兩者的結合？您可以給出任何顏色來量化其中哪一個超出了您最初的預期？

Yes. Traffic, I think was pretty consistent with what we expected conversion was better and the incentives that we had to provide to get that conversion were better than our expectations, which is what really contributed to the margin outperformance.

是的。流量，我認為與我們預期的轉化率更好的結果非常一致，我們為獲得轉化率而必須提供的激勵措施比我們的預期要好，這才是導致利潤率表現出色的真正原因。

And that does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I'll turn the conference back over to Jim for any closing remarks.

這確實結束了今天的問答環節。我會將會議轉回給吉姆，聽取任何閉幕詞。

I appreciate everybody's time today. We're certainly available for the remainder of the day for any follow-up questions. Otherwise, we look forward to meeting with you in the next quarter.

我感謝大家今天的時間。我們當然可以在當天剩餘的時間回答任何後續問題。否則，我們期待在下個季度與您會面。

And that does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

這確實結束了今天的電話會議。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。