But going back to the question that John asked, we’ve seen relative strength and improvement in kind of sales across the board, that’s not just geographically speaking, but that’s community by community as well.
Truman Patterson: Perfect. Thank you all for the time.
Jim Zeumer: Thanks, Truman.
Operator: Our next question comes from Alan Ratner with Zelman & Associates.
Alan Ratner: Hey, guys. Good morning. Nice execution, and thanks for the time here. Ryan, just on the margin, I know you’re not guiding beyond 1Q, but I’m just curious if you could talk through a little bit. When I compare you guys to some of your larger competitors, your margins right now are outperforming by a pretty wide level 400, 500 basis points. And while I understand there might be a little bit of a lag there given they’re maybe more spec focused than you are, it’s still a little bit surprising to see the outperformance. So could you talk a little bit about my understanding you’re not going to give guidance, is that just a timing issue? Or is there something you guys are doing that is resulting in that outperformance, in your opinion?
Ryan Marshall: Yes, Alan, thanks for the question. I appreciate it, and I think, for those that have followed us for years, yourself in that category, I think everybody is aware that we’ve implemented a number of really important kind of changes in the way that we operate our business that has driven higher returns over the housing cycle, and certainly, higher margins have been part of that. Those initiatives have touched everything from the way that we design our homes and communities to how we price and sell homes. And a really big part of it is the quality of the dirt that we’re buying. A little bit back to the question that Truman announced a minute ago. And the way that we have evaluated and underwritten risk and the associated requisite returns that we ask for as part of the risk associated with those communities.
So I think you’re seeing — I think you’re certainly seeing that pay off. We have highlighted on this call, in my prepared remarks, the way that we are going to run the business in this environment, which is a tougher operating environment. And we really feel it’s important to turn our inventory to get good flow-through and to sell and define kind of a market clearing price. So while we believe that the operating model that we have is a great one, and we are really reaping the rewards from it, we won’t be immune to some of the market pressures that are certainly out there. But we think that we are an efficient homebuilder, and we are going to continue to be very disciplined and prudent in the way that we are making pricing decisions.
Alan Ratner: Great. I appreciate all the thoughts there. Second question on the cost side. I think, over the last few months, we’ve heard a lot of optimism from homebuilders about their ability to renegotiate costs lower, especially as starts have pulled back as much as they have and what was shaping up to be a pretty volume outlook in ’23. And your comments are similar to what we’ve heard from others that the market seems to be showing some improvement here. I can’t help but look at lumber costs up 40% year-to-date and imagining that perhaps that might be filtering through to some other inputs as well. So what’s your current thinking on the cost side? Are you feeling a little bit less bullish about your ability to kind of push back on costs now given what seems to be a strengthening marketplace? Or do you still feel like you can find some relief there as the year goes on?
