D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Rafe Jadrosich: And then just one more on the — in terms of the improvement in demand that you’re seeing in the quarter and quarter outlook for orders in the second quarter relative to the first quarter. Can you talk about what you think is driving the stronger demand? Is it the fact that mortgage rates have come down a little bit? Is there anything happening with consumer confidence what’s giving you that confidence in supporting the view that we’re going to get back to normal seasonality after what’s been a very tough housing market at the end of 2022?

David Auld: I do think the credit markets have stabilized somewhat, consumer confidence improved a little bit. Job growth continues to be very good. So overall, if you look at product demand at just a generalized economy becoming less bad, very good signs for housing. And we monitor our sales; we monitor cancellations week to week to week to week. And so when we see that trend returning to more of a normalized market, it’s hard not to be optimistic that we’re going to good spring. And that’s the way we’re positioned and we’ll get up every day and respond to what happens out there in the field.

Jessica Hansen: Yeah, specific to Horton, those are other industry reasons, right? Specific to Horton, our inventory position puts us in a more confident place to be able to say we’re going to see that pick up with the level of completed homes we have and the stage of construction, the homes behind those are at, because what we’re seeing the most success in today is buyers who do want a home quickly because they can get that certainty of not only close date, but most importantly, interest rate. And so that is the majority of our buyers today, and that’s why we feel very confident and are very happy with our inventory position right now.

Rafe Jadrosich: Great. I appreciate all the color. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. I would now like to hand the call off to David Auld for some closing remarks.

David Auld: Thank you, Paul. We appreciate everyone’s time on the call today, and look forward to speaking with you again to share our second quarter results in April. And finally, congratulations to the entire D.R. Horton team. We’re producing a solid first quarter while navigating changing market conditions, go compete and continue to win every day. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today’s conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.