NYSE:CCS Century Communities Q3 2023 Earnings Report $54.32 -1.02 (-1.84%) As of 05/20/2025 03:59 PM Eastern Earnings HistoryForecast Century Communities EPS ResultsActual EPS$2.58Consensus EPS $1.59Beat/MissBeat by +$0.99One Year Ago EPSN/ACentury Communities Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$889.42 millionExpected Revenue$801.87 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$87.55 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/ACentury Communities Announcement DetailsQuarterQ3 2023Date10/25/2023TimeN/AConference Call DateWednesday, October 25, 2023Conference Call Time5:00PM ETUpcoming EarningsCentury Communities' Q2 2025 earnings is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, 2025, with a conference call scheduled at 5:00 PM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)SEC FilingEarnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Century Communities Q3 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrOctober 25, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Century Communities Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Tyler Langton, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations for Century Communities. Operator00:00:39Thank you. You may begin. Speaker 100:00:43Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today for Century Communities Earnings Conference Call for the Q3 2023. Before the call begins, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or implied in the forward looking statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties can be found under the heading Risk Factors in the company's latest 10 ks as supplemented by our latest 10 Q and other SEC filings. We undertake no duty to update our forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:23Additionally, certain non GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this conference call. The company's presentation of this information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information Hosting the call today are Dale Francescon, Chairman and Co Chief Executive Officer Rob Francescon, Co Chief Executive Officer and President and David Messenger, Chief Financial Officer. Following today's prepared remarks, Speaker 200:01:59I want to start by saying that we are very pleased with our solid third quarter results, especially within the context of a challenging overall housing market. Despite rising interest rates, our sales activity performed in line with our expectations and Our deliveries of 2,264 homes increased on a quarter over quarter basis and benefited from improved cycle times. Home sales revenues of $865,000,000 Grew by 6% over 2nd quarter levels, with our average sales price gaining 4%. Our gross margins increased by 490 basis points sequentially to 24.6%, While our adjusted gross margins increased by 480 basis points to 25.8%. As a result, we delivered 3rd quarter diluted earnings per share of $2.58 a 62% increase over Q2 2023 levels. Speaker 200:03:16Turning to our sales activity, Our net new contracts in the 3rd quarter totaled 2,149 homes, a 63% improvement The level of sales activity that we saw in the Q3 2022. We commented last With our net orders declining 7% sequentially, roughly in line with the 6% quarter over quarter decline we saw in the Q3 of 2019. Our net orders in August September Both exceeded the levels we experienced in July, which we view as a positive trend given the continued increase in interest rates over the past several Looking out to the Q4 as a whole, if typical seasonality holds, we would expect our net orders to decline on a We are continuing to see good demand for affordable entry level homes across both our Century Communities And Century Complete Brands and wanted to use this opportunity to go into a little more detail on the value that we see in our Century Complete business, which currently generates approximately 35% of our sales and deliveries. As we've discussed in the past, Century Complete targets entry level customers with 100% of its deliveries within FHA limits and only acquires finished lots. It is a scalable business model, which requires less capital investment and yields quicker asset turns. Speaker 200:05:05The increase in interest rates over the past year has also reinforced some additional advantages of the Century Complete brand. In the Q3, Century Complete had an average sales price of $265,000 And the large public homebuilders generally don't build at this price point. Century Complete tends to compete more with existing homes and Smaller private homebuilders, which puts us in a strong position. Existing home inventories remain pressed due to the lock in effect, so there is less competition from the used home market. Smaller private new homebuilders tend to borrow from local and regional banks. Speaker 200:05:51Their borrowing costs are generally higher than ours, and we think the local and regional banks We'll likely reduce the amount of credit that they are willing to extend to the smaller private builders. As a result, We think Centuri Complete is in a strong position to capture additional market share in the years ahead. Turning back to Centuri as a whole, we continue to maintain our focus on building some of the most affordable new homes in the markets we serve. More than 90% of 3rd quarter deliveries were from homes priced below FHA limits, which allows us to target more potential buyers in any given market. Additionally, 99% of our home deliveries this quarter were from spec builds, which enables us to better control our costs It allows our buyers to purchase quick move in homes and lock in their mortgage rates for certainty of financing. Speaker 200:06:55Our cancellation rate was 16% in the 3rd quarter, consistent with our year to date rate and well below an average cancellation rate in the low to mid-twenty percent range in the years prior to COVID. We continue to believe that our cancellation rate is benefiting from buyers adjusting to the higher interest rate environment And our strategy of selling homes later in the construction cycle. In closing, we're encouraged by the improvement that we have seen over the Several quarters in our deliveries and gross margins, which are benefiting from reduced levels of incentives, improved cycle times and lower direct costs. As expected and previously messaged, Our deliveries have increased sequentially in each of the last two quarters. And as Dave will detail in his remarks, We expect our 4th quarter deliveries to increase over 3rd quarter levels and are increasing the midpoint of our 2023 delivery guidance. Speaker 200:08:04The sequential improvement in our margins and deliveries this year, Coupled with the increase in our community count, which Rob will discuss further in his remarks, position us well for 2024. And on behalf of the entire management team, I want to thank our team members and trade partners for their hard work and dedication that made these results possible. I'll now turn the call over to Rob to discuss our operations and land position in more detail. Speaker 300:08:37Thank you, Dale, and good afternoon, everyone. Given the market demand, we were able to reduce our level of incentives, while still maintaining a healthy sales pace in the quarter. Incentives averaged roughly 700 basis points on closed homes in the Q3 2023, down roughly 200 basis points on a sequential basis. In the Q3, incentives on new sales also averaged approximately 700 basis points and were primarily mortgage related. While we are continuing to purchase forward loan commitments and are currently offering our customers 30 year fixed interest rates between 5% And 6% depending on the loan type with certain programs even lower. Speaker 300:09:24The cost to buy down these Rates to these levels has been increasing over the past several months with the overall increase in interest rates. However, given the ability to significantly lower monthly payments, a below market interest rate provides us a significant sales tool That continues to be one of the most sought after incentive by our homebuyers and allows us a competitive advantage over private builders We experienced further improvement in our cycle times on completed homes in the 3rd quarter, which generally averaged in the 5 to 6 month timeframe. We expect our cycle times to see some additional improvement in the 4th quarter, such that by the end of the year, we are back to starting and completing homes in the more normalized 4 to 6 month timeframe. Earlier this year, we discussed direct construction costs declining by roughly 11%, an average of approximately $20,000 per home versus the high watermark in the Q2 of 2022. The homes with these savings will flow through in the 4th quarter as we deliver these lower cost homes and help offset the rising cost of mortgage rate buy downs. Speaker 300:10:44Given the level of industry wide new home starts, our direct construction costs on the homes we started in Speaker 400:10:50the 3rd quarter, which will Speaker 300:10:51be delivered in 2024, increased approximately 1.5% on a quarter over quarter basis. Turning to land. We ended the 3rd quarter with approximately 69,000 owned and controlled lots, a 19% increase over 2nd quarter 2023 levels as we continued our land acquisition efforts. This higher lot count was driven almost entirely By an 11,000 lot increase in our controlled land to 38,000 lots. Our controlled lots As a percentage of total lots increased to 56% in the 3rd quarter from 46% last quarter and 39% in the Q1. Speaker 300:11:37Our 30,000 owned lots in the 3rd quarter are consistent with levels over the Last 7 quarters and provide approximately 3 years of deliveries based on prior year volumes. In the Q3, our community count of 252, a company record, increased by 16% from year ago levels and by 8% on a sequential basis. Century Complete accounted for over 40% of our total community count, While the Southeast and Texas combined accounted for close to 30%, as these markets are continuing to perform well given their relative affordability and strong employment and population growth. We continue to expect our year end 2023 community count to be in the range of 250 to 260 communities, showing strong year over year growth of 20% to 25%. We believe this increased number of communities We'll represent a new base for Century Communities, which we will look to grow even further as we recognize increased deliveries in 2024 and beyond. Speaker 300:12:53I'll now turn the call over to Dave to discuss our financial results in more detail. Thank you, Rob. During the Q3 of 2023, pre tax income was $112,000,000 and net income was 83,200,000 Or $2.58 per diluted share, representing sequential increases of over 60% for all three metrics. EBITDA for the quarter was $125,300,000 a 56% increase over Q2 2023 levels. Home sales revenues for the Q3 were $865,100,000 compared to $1,100,000,000 in the prior year quarter and $818,400,000 in the Q2 of 2023. Speaker 300:13:40Our 3rd quarter deliveries were 2,264 homes. For the Q4, we are currently forecasting deliveries to be in the range of 2,200 to 2,600 homes. Our average sales price of $382,000 in the 3rd quarter increased by 4% on a sequential basis as we continue to reduce incentives and selectively increase base prices. At quarter end, our backlog of sold homes $1887 valued at $707,000,000 with an average price of $375,000 In the Q3, adjusted homebuilding gross margin was 25.8% compared to 21% in the Q2 2023. Homebuilding gross margin was 24.6% compared to 19.7% in the Q2 of 2023. Speaker 300:14:36As expected, Our gross margins increased sequentially in the 3rd quarter due to improved cycle times, lower direct costs and reduced levels of incentives. For the Q4, we expect our gross margins to decline versus Q3 2023 levels, primarily due to the increased cost of mortgage rate buy downs. SG and A as a percent of home sales revenue was 12.9% in the 3rd quarter compared to 9.9% in the prior year. The largest driver of this year over year increase was the spreading of our fixed costs over a lower revenue base as well as more normalized commission rates on home sales. Looking out to next year, we expect our SG and A as a percent of home sales revenues to decline on a year over year basis as we look to grow our deliveries and keep our fixed levels of SG and A relatively constant. Speaker 300:15:31During the Q3, Financial Services captured 71% of our closings generated $23,600,000 in revenues compared to $23,300,000 in the prior year. This business contributed $12,200,000 in pretax income compared to $9,300,000 in the prior year quarter. Our net homebuilding debt to net capital ratio decreased to 25.3% compared to 32.5% in the prior year quarter. Our homebuilding debt to capital ratio decreased to 30.8% at quarter end compared to 36.3% at the end of the same period last year. During the quarter, we maintained our quarterly cash dividend at $0.23 per share and ended the quarter with a strong financial position, including $2,300,000,000 in stockholders' equity, dollars 1,000,000,000 in total liquidity and $246,000,000 in cash. Speaker 300:16:28At quarter end, we had no borrowings outstanding on our $800,000,000 unsecured revolving credit facility that does not mature until April 2026. Additionally, we have no senior debt maturities until June of 2027, providing us ample flexibility with our leverage management. Finally, back in September of this year, S and P upgraded our credit rating to BB from BB- Now turning to guidance. Given the continued strength in our deliveries, which have benefited from improved cycle times and a continued sales pace, We are increasing the midpoints of our full year 2023 guidance for home deliveries to be in the range of 8,600 to 9,000 homes And our home sales revenues to be in the range of $3,200,000,000 to $3,400,000,000 With that, I'll open the line for questions. Operator? Operator00:17:21We will now begin the question and answer Our first question is from Carl Reichardt with BTIG. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:17:56Hey, guys. How are Speaker 600:17:57you? Great. Speaker 500:18:00Thanks for the time. As always, thanks for taking my question. I want to talk about the margin change, 480 bps year on year direct construction costs incentives off and improved cycle times. Can you talk a little bit about how each of those three Speaker 300:18:23I think it was really a combination of all of them, Carl. We saw the ability that we were pulling back on some incentives With the sales for homes that closed during the Q3, we saw the benefit of some lower direct costs that came through in those closings as well. And then being able to deliver a home in a more normalized construction period is helpful. And we have some markets where we're increasing base prices. And so the combination really of those 3, 4 items, tough to parse out which is which and which one may have contributed more than another. Speaker 300:18:55Brian, obviously, all 4 really contributed to some great gross margin performance we had this quarter that we could talk about. Speaker 500:19:04Okay. And Dave, so then if we look at Q4 and trying to think about the sequential change in margin, you'll have direct construction costs, I I don't know if it will be up or flat with 3rd quarter per house basis. Incentives may come up, pricing power may flatten and your cycle times I think will continue to improve. So if I that all up, the change in gross margin from Q3 to Q4 should be relatively modest on a negative basis. Is that the right way to think about it based on what you're seeing today? Speaker 300:19:34Yes. I think those are definitely all the components that we're weighing against each other. And it's really going to come into what are the costs of those Mortgage rate buy downs or other incentives that we have in place in order to move product and what does that do to margin? Sitting here today, not sure what the economic And rate environment will look like in 30 to 60 days as we're closing homes. But those are definitely the 4 the 3 or 4 components that we're looking at That will impact margins in the Q4. Speaker 500:20:03Okay, great. I'll get back in queue. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. Operator00:20:09The next question is from Jay McCanless with Wedbush. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:20:14Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Could Could you talk about which markets or maybe what percentage of communities you've been able to raise price? Speaker 200:20:26Jay, it really comes down to a community by community basis. Although, Generally, I'd say we have more pricing power in Texas, in our Southeast markets and in Florida. It's just those markets have benefited more from having lower price points in general, more in migration, stronger economies. So in general, if we were going to look at it, I'd say that most of the price increases came in those markets. Speaker 400:21:00And then Dave, I think you said that you guys are expecting the SG and A margin SG and A to sales margin in 24 It's kind of flattened out. So is this $112,000,000 is this the kind of the run rate going forward On a quarterly basis. Speaker 300:21:18Yes, we're looking at we feel comfortable with where we are from a fixed dollar perspective. So I think on the fixed dollars, we feel good about that. And then obviously, the variables are going to float as we see closings come through the pipeline. The comment is really we think that SG and A as a percent of revenues is going to decline on a year over year basis as we're looking to grow our deliveries Next year. So I think that with fixed dollars being relatively constant, 23, 24, we should see some leverage improvement in that line item next year. Speaker 300:21:50Okay. Speaker 400:21:54And then I guess kind of thinking ahead for 2024, if rates Stay at these levels or even go up from here, I mean should we expect gross margins to kind of settle in somewhere If it's going to be down sequentially from Q3 to Q4, how much more with what you're seeing in terms of these buy down costs? What type of impact might that have on fiscal 'twenty four gross margins, especially if you're thinking you're going to have to carry A full year of buying down an 8% or 9% par rate down to, I think you guys said on your website, it's like 5.7.8 percent for some of these. I guess, how much more is that cost going to go up if you have to carry this for full year versus only, call it, 3 months where rates have been around 8%? Speaker 300:22:44That's really tough to forecast in terms of where that mortgage market is going to be in terms of buy downs. We do expect that We'll really look at that next year and we'll try to evaluate that so we can still post the best margins possible because We'll look at how far do we want to buy down the rates? Are we buying them down across the border? Are we buying them down by community? And then what products we're utilizing In terms of government loans versus conventional and then what do we want to be offering to the consumer. Speaker 300:23:18And so we'll look to stratify the offerings and try to minimize the impact, but we do expect that If rates are going to be at an elevated level for some time, it's going to cost more. Speaker 400:23:32Okay. And one more and I'll jump back in queue. I guess, what are you guys thinking in terms of the community openings that are coming on? Where do you expect average pricing to go? And are you expecting Century Complete to flex higher as a percentage of the community count And maybe pull that ASP down a little bit in 'twenty four versus 'twenty three. Speaker 300:23:56Jay, we're looking From a community count growth, at the 252 where we ended Q3, that's where we really think the base is going forward. So As we forecast out, let's just say over the next 12 months, we think our community count is going to grow in that, but it's going to grow similar to where we've been now with The same percentages of Century Complete versus the Communities brand. But again, it's off this higher base, which we feel really good about that and that's why we're anticipating to have higher deliveries in 2024 Then we get in are going to have in 2023. Speaker 400:24:36Okay, sounds great. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:24:40The next question is from Alex Rygiel with B. Riley FBR. Please go ahead. Speaker 300:24:46Thank you. And just Following up on community count, will the contribution of new communities have a notable impact on your average selling price in 2024? No. They're very similar. We've continued to look at more entry level offerings. Speaker 300:25:03So it will be very similar to And again, that's on a general statement. We have outlier communities that some are at higher price points, of course, For different markets and different niches and strategies within a particular market. But as a general statement, The new communities that we're opening are very similar from a price point standpoint to where we are today. And then looking at the communities again, Centric Complete Communities are down year over year. Most of the other regions are up. Speaker 300:25:36You referenced a number of times the expectation to see some growth in Century Complete Communities. Is it communities that are growing? Is it the average size of the community within Century complete increasing? A little bit more Yes. So the average size is definitely increasing in Century Complete. Speaker 300:25:57And also some of that's timing differences as well, because Just as a reminder, Century Complete only buys finished lots. And so sometimes there may be delays on A developer bringing the lots to us from a cycle time. And so there could just be certain mix delays within these Within a particular point in time, but as a general statement, the communities are getting bigger. Speaker 100:26:25Thank you. Operator00:26:28The next question is from Alan Ratner with Zelman and Associates. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:26:34Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Nice quarter. Hi, Alan. Question on the incentives. Speaker 600:26:39So, it sounds like They were pretty steady both on orders and closings during the quarter around 700 bps, but based on your, I guess, comments for 4th quarter, it sounds like you expect an uptick there. What was the trend on orders, I guess, through the quarter and into September October? Have you seen That incentive number rising here Speaker 300:27:01thus far in October? Speaker 200:27:03Yes, we have. As we look at The Q3 and coming into the Q4, interest rates have continued to stay high and actually And so when we look at the cost of buying down mortgages to be able to offer Something in that mid-five percent range, it just becomes more costly, depending on as the rate continues to increase. So yes, We have definitely seen the increase and we expect to continue to see an increase. Speaker 600:27:37Got it. Okay. That makes sense. And then The rate you're offering in that 5% to 6% range, how are you thinking about that in that if rates continue to kind of gradually move higher from here, Is that an important kind of line in the sand where you feel like once you get above a 6% rate or Yes, in the mid-6s that you see a pretty dramatic pullback in demand or will that base kind of gradually move higher along with the current Prevailing rate, it's just kind of you're trying to ease that trajectory a little bit? Speaker 300:28:13That's really hard to I mean, obviously, the way we're mitigating the high rates is to buy them down. And we even have some programs For a small dollar amount on very, very select communities that are in the high 4% range, obviously, that's very costly right now. And but we like a 5 handle on it currently. If rates continue to go up and they get up approaching close to 9%, then the reality is Our rates are going other than what we do know for a fact is that at the current lifted rates, it is costing us more on the buy downs currently. Speaker 600:29:01Got it. Great. And if I could sneak in one more. The big increase in your lot count this quarter, can you provide a little bit of color around What's the these lots that you're tying up today, when should we expect that to flow through to community count growth? What's the Pricing trends in the land market today and are you seeing any compelling distressed opportunities either from BFR deals falling through or Some other factors that might have contributed to the big jump in lot count this quarter. Speaker 300:29:33So we are buying from VFR operators, operators that Picked up lot positions. They were either going to get a fee builder on it or build it themselves. We've been successful in Purchasing lots from those entities, so that's been a positive. In terms of the timing of The increase, as you see, it really increased our control percentage and we telegraphed this in our previous calls that we were going to increase our land based How we changed in 2022 on some of our controlled positions with a decrease based on market conditions, We wanted to get back up to levels we felt comfortable with and this has been a good start in the Q3 to get there. There are a variety of lot types From finished lots, that's obviously our preference if we can get finished lots and adjust in time basis. Speaker 300:30:23And so we have Some of those as far as development deals that we are developing, those depend on municipalities and timelines, Alan, as I know you know these answers, But they're anywhere from 12 months to 24 months generally before they start development and then you go from there. So it's kind of an All across the board structure on the land. But we feel really good about the control positions we have. They're in the markets We want them to be in the higher growth markets, some of the markets Dale alluded to on this call, and we feel really good about them. And one just last thing, you also asked about distress. Speaker 300:31:04We have not seen any significant distress in the market. We are seeing things open up a little bit where financing is being tighter for the privates. They're not able to compete. It's really competition against Public to public. And so certain things are opening up, but as far as distress, I wouldn't go that far yet. Speaker 600:31:26Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Speaker 400:31:29You're welcome. Operator00:31:30The next question is from Alex Barron with Housing Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:31:36Yes, thank you. Yes, I was curious if you guys could tell us how many homes you started this quarter? That's my first question. Speaker 300:31:46Yes. This quarter, in terms of starts, we did 2,434 homes. So we're pretty much matching what we're doing from a sales pace. Speaker 700:31:57Got it. Yes, my other question was, last Here I think several builders engaged in trying to find the market clearing price And obviously that had an impact on margins. This year it seems like everybody is focused on buying down rates instead, which I think is Probably healthier. I'm just kind of curious if as we're approaching year end, are you do you believe That's likely going to continue to be the case? Or are you starting to see some of that activity of people trying to compete on cutting prices? Speaker 200:32:34Well, I guess we'll see as we get closer to the end of the year. Right now, the incentive that buyers are most Interested in is to have a below market interest rate. And you can certainly see why it dramatically lowers their cost ownership. And so that's where our focus has been. And as we look at our competitors, that's where their focus has been so far as well. Speaker 700:33:00Okay. Well, hopefully, we'll keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way because it seems like a more Rational way to compete, I think. Speaker 800:33:10Yes. Speaker 700:33:12And, yes, other than that, Do you believe in general that because you said you expect growth in units for next So do you believe you're just going to that's going to happen based on growing community count, but maybe slightly lower sales pace? Speaker 300:33:33That's tough to say. We think that we're well positioned today that if Call it 250 to 260 community count going into next year, given our current sales pace, we feel good about being able to deliver those homes. We'll comment more on future guidance when we get into our Q4 call, and we may have a little bit of a better flavor on what we think absorption will be next year by then. Operator00:34:04The next question is from Michael Rehaut with JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:34:10Hi, guys. This is Andrew Ozzio on for Mike. Thank you for taking the question. Congrats on the quarter. Speaker 300:34:16I just Speaker 100:34:17wanted to Speaker 800:34:18yes, I just wanted to ask if you guys have put out maybe an absorption target that you're managing the business to and If there's maybe a level where if that if it gets below that, you'd get much more aggressive on incentives and discounts and things like that. Speaker 300:34:36No, no, we haven't done that. We manage all the communities in our divisions and markets individually, but we do not have any company stated Absorption pace. Speaker 800:34:49Got it. And then I'm not sure if you guys have alluded to how demand has been trending in October. And I'm just curious, I believe I heard the cancellation on this 13%, which is similar to last quarter, Just given how impressive orders were this quarter and the entry level exposure, curious how cancellation rates have stayed so low? Speaker 200:35:15Yes. Our cancellation rates last quarter was 16%, which is consistent with where we had been running, Down quite a bit from what we were experiencing pre COVID in the low to mid-twenty percent range. And I think that's as we said in our prepared remarks, it's really a reflection of 2 things. 1, we're selling later in the construction cycle so that The consumer can know what his interest rate is and we can lock that as Which is the primary factor as well as people are starting to adjust to these higher rates. With regard to Although as we get later in the year, we start really being impacted by seasonality that happens Speaker 800:36:20Thank you. I appreciate that. Operator00:36:24The next question is a follow-up from Alex Barron with Housing Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:36:30Yes. Thank you. I was curious if you guys would be able to share some of your average statistics For what a typical consumer looks like and maybe even break it down into a century complete, meaning like what's the average household income, What's the average cycle? What's the average down payment? Those types of things. Speaker 300:36:55I think that we can look at providing something like that offline as opposed to going into all the nitty gritty details here or we can look at putting something into one of our Investor decks going forward in the future. Speaker 700:37:08Okay. I think that would be helpful. Main reason I'm asking is because I think there's this notion that how can a median household income afford A home today and I think the answer is it's not your typical median household income buying homes. I think it's more like the upper You know, quintile or something. So I think it'd be helpful for investors to see what the profile of a typical buyer today is. Speaker 300:37:40Yes, we've been in your piece today, Alex. So appreciate where you're coming from there and Dave can we have all those statistics, Dave Operator00:37:55This concludes our question and answer session. We will now turn the line back over to Dale for some brief closing remarks. Speaker 200:38:02Thank you, operator. To everyone on the call, Thank you for your time today and interest in Century Communities. To our employees, thank you for your incredible efforts, Dedication to Century and commitment to our valued homebuyers. To our investors, we appreciate your continued support and look forward to speaking with you again next quarter ensuring our continued progress and outlook for 2024. Operator00:38:29The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today'sRead morePowered by Key Takeaways Century delivered 2,264 homes in Q3 2023, generating $865 M in home sales revenue (up 6% QoQ) and achieving record 25.8% adjusted gross margin, driving diluted EPS of $2.58 (up 62% sequentially). Net contracts totaled 2,149 homes (up 63% YoY), with August and September sales outpacing July despite rising interest rates, while typical seasonality points to a modest Q4 orders decline. The Century Complete entry-level brand, representing 35% of Q3 sales, delivered homes at an average price of $265 K, leverages only finished lots for faster turns, and primarily competes against existing homes and smaller private builders. Century expanded its land and community footprint to a record 252 communities (up 16% YoY) and 69,000 owned and controlled lots (up 19% QoQ, with 56% controlled), positioning for 250–260 communities by year-end. For Q4, Century forecasts 2,200–2,600 home deliveries, raised its full-year 2023 guidance to 8,600–9,000 deliveries and $3.2–3.4 B in home revenue, while expecting slight margin pressure from increased mortgage rate buy-downs. A.I. generated. May contain errors.Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallCentury Communities Q3 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Century Communities Earnings HeadlinesCentury Communities Reveals 7 Outdoor Living Trends for Summer 2025May 20 at 2:24 PM | prnewswire.comCentury Communities Inc (CCS) Announces Groundbreaking of Katy Reserve in West Houston | CCS ...May 19 at 3:22 PM | gurufocus.comGet Your Bank Account “Fed Invasion” Ready with THESE 4 Simple StepsStarting as soon as a few months from now, the United States government will make a sweeping change to bank accounts nationwide. It will give them unprecedented powers to control your bank account.May 21, 2025 | Weiss Ratings (Ad)Century Communities Announces Katy Reserve Groundbreaking in the West Houston MetroMay 19 at 2:30 PM | gurufocus.comCentury Communities Announces Katy Reserve Groundbreaking in the West Houston MetroMay 19 at 1:55 PM | prnewswire.comAnalysts Set Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) Price Target at $101.33May 15, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comSee More Century Communities Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Century Communities? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Century Communities and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Century CommunitiesCentury Communities (NYSE:CCS), together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, construction, marketing, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes. It is also involved in the entitlement and development of the underlying land; and provision of mortgage, title, and insurance services to its homebuyers. The company offers homes under the Century Communities and Century Complete brands. It sells homes through its sales representatives, retail studios, and internet, as well as through independent real estate brokers in 18 states in the United States. 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There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Century Communities Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Tyler Langton, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations for Century Communities. Operator00:00:39Thank you. You may begin. Speaker 100:00:43Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today for Century Communities Earnings Conference Call for the Q3 2023. Before the call begins, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or implied in the forward looking statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties can be found under the heading Risk Factors in the company's latest 10 ks as supplemented by our latest 10 Q and other SEC filings. We undertake no duty to update our forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:23Additionally, certain non GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this conference call. The company's presentation of this information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information Hosting the call today are Dale Francescon, Chairman and Co Chief Executive Officer Rob Francescon, Co Chief Executive Officer and President and David Messenger, Chief Financial Officer. Following today's prepared remarks, Speaker 200:01:59I want to start by saying that we are very pleased with our solid third quarter results, especially within the context of a challenging overall housing market. Despite rising interest rates, our sales activity performed in line with our expectations and Our deliveries of 2,264 homes increased on a quarter over quarter basis and benefited from improved cycle times. Home sales revenues of $865,000,000 Grew by 6% over 2nd quarter levels, with our average sales price gaining 4%. Our gross margins increased by 490 basis points sequentially to 24.6%, While our adjusted gross margins increased by 480 basis points to 25.8%. As a result, we delivered 3rd quarter diluted earnings per share of $2.58 a 62% increase over Q2 2023 levels. Speaker 200:03:16Turning to our sales activity, Our net new contracts in the 3rd quarter totaled 2,149 homes, a 63% improvement The level of sales activity that we saw in the Q3 2022. We commented last With our net orders declining 7% sequentially, roughly in line with the 6% quarter over quarter decline we saw in the Q3 of 2019. Our net orders in August September Both exceeded the levels we experienced in July, which we view as a positive trend given the continued increase in interest rates over the past several Looking out to the Q4 as a whole, if typical seasonality holds, we would expect our net orders to decline on a We are continuing to see good demand for affordable entry level homes across both our Century Communities And Century Complete Brands and wanted to use this opportunity to go into a little more detail on the value that we see in our Century Complete business, which currently generates approximately 35% of our sales and deliveries. As we've discussed in the past, Century Complete targets entry level customers with 100% of its deliveries within FHA limits and only acquires finished lots. It is a scalable business model, which requires less capital investment and yields quicker asset turns. Speaker 200:05:05The increase in interest rates over the past year has also reinforced some additional advantages of the Century Complete brand. In the Q3, Century Complete had an average sales price of $265,000 And the large public homebuilders generally don't build at this price point. Century Complete tends to compete more with existing homes and Smaller private homebuilders, which puts us in a strong position. Existing home inventories remain pressed due to the lock in effect, so there is less competition from the used home market. Smaller private new homebuilders tend to borrow from local and regional banks. Speaker 200:05:51Their borrowing costs are generally higher than ours, and we think the local and regional banks We'll likely reduce the amount of credit that they are willing to extend to the smaller private builders. As a result, We think Centuri Complete is in a strong position to capture additional market share in the years ahead. Turning back to Centuri as a whole, we continue to maintain our focus on building some of the most affordable new homes in the markets we serve. More than 90% of 3rd quarter deliveries were from homes priced below FHA limits, which allows us to target more potential buyers in any given market. Additionally, 99% of our home deliveries this quarter were from spec builds, which enables us to better control our costs It allows our buyers to purchase quick move in homes and lock in their mortgage rates for certainty of financing. Speaker 200:06:55Our cancellation rate was 16% in the 3rd quarter, consistent with our year to date rate and well below an average cancellation rate in the low to mid-twenty percent range in the years prior to COVID. We continue to believe that our cancellation rate is benefiting from buyers adjusting to the higher interest rate environment And our strategy of selling homes later in the construction cycle. In closing, we're encouraged by the improvement that we have seen over the Several quarters in our deliveries and gross margins, which are benefiting from reduced levels of incentives, improved cycle times and lower direct costs. As expected and previously messaged, Our deliveries have increased sequentially in each of the last two quarters. And as Dave will detail in his remarks, We expect our 4th quarter deliveries to increase over 3rd quarter levels and are increasing the midpoint of our 2023 delivery guidance. Speaker 200:08:04The sequential improvement in our margins and deliveries this year, Coupled with the increase in our community count, which Rob will discuss further in his remarks, position us well for 2024. And on behalf of the entire management team, I want to thank our team members and trade partners for their hard work and dedication that made these results possible. I'll now turn the call over to Rob to discuss our operations and land position in more detail. Speaker 300:08:37Thank you, Dale, and good afternoon, everyone. Given the market demand, we were able to reduce our level of incentives, while still maintaining a healthy sales pace in the quarter. Incentives averaged roughly 700 basis points on closed homes in the Q3 2023, down roughly 200 basis points on a sequential basis. In the Q3, incentives on new sales also averaged approximately 700 basis points and were primarily mortgage related. While we are continuing to purchase forward loan commitments and are currently offering our customers 30 year fixed interest rates between 5% And 6% depending on the loan type with certain programs even lower. Speaker 300:09:24The cost to buy down these Rates to these levels has been increasing over the past several months with the overall increase in interest rates. However, given the ability to significantly lower monthly payments, a below market interest rate provides us a significant sales tool That continues to be one of the most sought after incentive by our homebuyers and allows us a competitive advantage over private builders We experienced further improvement in our cycle times on completed homes in the 3rd quarter, which generally averaged in the 5 to 6 month timeframe. We expect our cycle times to see some additional improvement in the 4th quarter, such that by the end of the year, we are back to starting and completing homes in the more normalized 4 to 6 month timeframe. Earlier this year, we discussed direct construction costs declining by roughly 11%, an average of approximately $20,000 per home versus the high watermark in the Q2 of 2022. The homes with these savings will flow through in the 4th quarter as we deliver these lower cost homes and help offset the rising cost of mortgage rate buy downs. Speaker 300:10:44Given the level of industry wide new home starts, our direct construction costs on the homes we started in Speaker 400:10:50the 3rd quarter, which will Speaker 300:10:51be delivered in 2024, increased approximately 1.5% on a quarter over quarter basis. Turning to land. We ended the 3rd quarter with approximately 69,000 owned and controlled lots, a 19% increase over 2nd quarter 2023 levels as we continued our land acquisition efforts. This higher lot count was driven almost entirely By an 11,000 lot increase in our controlled land to 38,000 lots. Our controlled lots As a percentage of total lots increased to 56% in the 3rd quarter from 46% last quarter and 39% in the Q1. Speaker 300:11:37Our 30,000 owned lots in the 3rd quarter are consistent with levels over the Last 7 quarters and provide approximately 3 years of deliveries based on prior year volumes. In the Q3, our community count of 252, a company record, increased by 16% from year ago levels and by 8% on a sequential basis. Century Complete accounted for over 40% of our total community count, While the Southeast and Texas combined accounted for close to 30%, as these markets are continuing to perform well given their relative affordability and strong employment and population growth. We continue to expect our year end 2023 community count to be in the range of 250 to 260 communities, showing strong year over year growth of 20% to 25%. We believe this increased number of communities We'll represent a new base for Century Communities, which we will look to grow even further as we recognize increased deliveries in 2024 and beyond. Speaker 300:12:53I'll now turn the call over to Dave to discuss our financial results in more detail. Thank you, Rob. During the Q3 of 2023, pre tax income was $112,000,000 and net income was 83,200,000 Or $2.58 per diluted share, representing sequential increases of over 60% for all three metrics. EBITDA for the quarter was $125,300,000 a 56% increase over Q2 2023 levels. Home sales revenues for the Q3 were $865,100,000 compared to $1,100,000,000 in the prior year quarter and $818,400,000 in the Q2 of 2023. Speaker 300:13:40Our 3rd quarter deliveries were 2,264 homes. For the Q4, we are currently forecasting deliveries to be in the range of 2,200 to 2,600 homes. Our average sales price of $382,000 in the 3rd quarter increased by 4% on a sequential basis as we continue to reduce incentives and selectively increase base prices. At quarter end, our backlog of sold homes $1887 valued at $707,000,000 with an average price of $375,000 In the Q3, adjusted homebuilding gross margin was 25.8% compared to 21% in the Q2 2023. Homebuilding gross margin was 24.6% compared to 19.7% in the Q2 of 2023. Speaker 300:14:36As expected, Our gross margins increased sequentially in the 3rd quarter due to improved cycle times, lower direct costs and reduced levels of incentives. For the Q4, we expect our gross margins to decline versus Q3 2023 levels, primarily due to the increased cost of mortgage rate buy downs. SG and A as a percent of home sales revenue was 12.9% in the 3rd quarter compared to 9.9% in the prior year. The largest driver of this year over year increase was the spreading of our fixed costs over a lower revenue base as well as more normalized commission rates on home sales. Looking out to next year, we expect our SG and A as a percent of home sales revenues to decline on a year over year basis as we look to grow our deliveries and keep our fixed levels of SG and A relatively constant. Speaker 300:15:31During the Q3, Financial Services captured 71% of our closings generated $23,600,000 in revenues compared to $23,300,000 in the prior year. This business contributed $12,200,000 in pretax income compared to $9,300,000 in the prior year quarter. Our net homebuilding debt to net capital ratio decreased to 25.3% compared to 32.5% in the prior year quarter. Our homebuilding debt to capital ratio decreased to 30.8% at quarter end compared to 36.3% at the end of the same period last year. During the quarter, we maintained our quarterly cash dividend at $0.23 per share and ended the quarter with a strong financial position, including $2,300,000,000 in stockholders' equity, dollars 1,000,000,000 in total liquidity and $246,000,000 in cash. Speaker 300:16:28At quarter end, we had no borrowings outstanding on our $800,000,000 unsecured revolving credit facility that does not mature until April 2026. Additionally, we have no senior debt maturities until June of 2027, providing us ample flexibility with our leverage management. Finally, back in September of this year, S and P upgraded our credit rating to BB from BB- Now turning to guidance. Given the continued strength in our deliveries, which have benefited from improved cycle times and a continued sales pace, We are increasing the midpoints of our full year 2023 guidance for home deliveries to be in the range of 8,600 to 9,000 homes And our home sales revenues to be in the range of $3,200,000,000 to $3,400,000,000 With that, I'll open the line for questions. Operator? Operator00:17:21We will now begin the question and answer Our first question is from Carl Reichardt with BTIG. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:17:56Hey, guys. How are Speaker 600:17:57you? Great. Speaker 500:18:00Thanks for the time. As always, thanks for taking my question. I want to talk about the margin change, 480 bps year on year direct construction costs incentives off and improved cycle times. Can you talk a little bit about how each of those three Speaker 300:18:23I think it was really a combination of all of them, Carl. We saw the ability that we were pulling back on some incentives With the sales for homes that closed during the Q3, we saw the benefit of some lower direct costs that came through in those closings as well. And then being able to deliver a home in a more normalized construction period is helpful. And we have some markets where we're increasing base prices. And so the combination really of those 3, 4 items, tough to parse out which is which and which one may have contributed more than another. Speaker 300:18:55Brian, obviously, all 4 really contributed to some great gross margin performance we had this quarter that we could talk about. Speaker 500:19:04Okay. And Dave, so then if we look at Q4 and trying to think about the sequential change in margin, you'll have direct construction costs, I I don't know if it will be up or flat with 3rd quarter per house basis. Incentives may come up, pricing power may flatten and your cycle times I think will continue to improve. So if I that all up, the change in gross margin from Q3 to Q4 should be relatively modest on a negative basis. Is that the right way to think about it based on what you're seeing today? Speaker 300:19:34Yes. I think those are definitely all the components that we're weighing against each other. And it's really going to come into what are the costs of those Mortgage rate buy downs or other incentives that we have in place in order to move product and what does that do to margin? Sitting here today, not sure what the economic And rate environment will look like in 30 to 60 days as we're closing homes. But those are definitely the 4 the 3 or 4 components that we're looking at That will impact margins in the Q4. Speaker 500:20:03Okay, great. I'll get back in queue. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. Operator00:20:09The next question is from Jay McCanless with Wedbush. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:20:14Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Could Could you talk about which markets or maybe what percentage of communities you've been able to raise price? Speaker 200:20:26Jay, it really comes down to a community by community basis. Although, Generally, I'd say we have more pricing power in Texas, in our Southeast markets and in Florida. It's just those markets have benefited more from having lower price points in general, more in migration, stronger economies. So in general, if we were going to look at it, I'd say that most of the price increases came in those markets. Speaker 400:21:00And then Dave, I think you said that you guys are expecting the SG and A margin SG and A to sales margin in 24 It's kind of flattened out. So is this $112,000,000 is this the kind of the run rate going forward On a quarterly basis. Speaker 300:21:18Yes, we're looking at we feel comfortable with where we are from a fixed dollar perspective. So I think on the fixed dollars, we feel good about that. And then obviously, the variables are going to float as we see closings come through the pipeline. The comment is really we think that SG and A as a percent of revenues is going to decline on a year over year basis as we're looking to grow our deliveries Next year. So I think that with fixed dollars being relatively constant, 23, 24, we should see some leverage improvement in that line item next year. Speaker 300:21:50Okay. Speaker 400:21:54And then I guess kind of thinking ahead for 2024, if rates Stay at these levels or even go up from here, I mean should we expect gross margins to kind of settle in somewhere If it's going to be down sequentially from Q3 to Q4, how much more with what you're seeing in terms of these buy down costs? What type of impact might that have on fiscal 'twenty four gross margins, especially if you're thinking you're going to have to carry A full year of buying down an 8% or 9% par rate down to, I think you guys said on your website, it's like 5.7.8 percent for some of these. I guess, how much more is that cost going to go up if you have to carry this for full year versus only, call it, 3 months where rates have been around 8%? Speaker 300:22:44That's really tough to forecast in terms of where that mortgage market is going to be in terms of buy downs. We do expect that We'll really look at that next year and we'll try to evaluate that so we can still post the best margins possible because We'll look at how far do we want to buy down the rates? Are we buying them down across the border? Are we buying them down by community? And then what products we're utilizing In terms of government loans versus conventional and then what do we want to be offering to the consumer. Speaker 300:23:18And so we'll look to stratify the offerings and try to minimize the impact, but we do expect that If rates are going to be at an elevated level for some time, it's going to cost more. Speaker 400:23:32Okay. And one more and I'll jump back in queue. I guess, what are you guys thinking in terms of the community openings that are coming on? Where do you expect average pricing to go? And are you expecting Century Complete to flex higher as a percentage of the community count And maybe pull that ASP down a little bit in 'twenty four versus 'twenty three. Speaker 300:23:56Jay, we're looking From a community count growth, at the 252 where we ended Q3, that's where we really think the base is going forward. So As we forecast out, let's just say over the next 12 months, we think our community count is going to grow in that, but it's going to grow similar to where we've been now with The same percentages of Century Complete versus the Communities brand. But again, it's off this higher base, which we feel really good about that and that's why we're anticipating to have higher deliveries in 2024 Then we get in are going to have in 2023. Speaker 400:24:36Okay, sounds great. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:24:40The next question is from Alex Rygiel with B. Riley FBR. Please go ahead. Speaker 300:24:46Thank you. And just Following up on community count, will the contribution of new communities have a notable impact on your average selling price in 2024? No. They're very similar. We've continued to look at more entry level offerings. Speaker 300:25:03So it will be very similar to And again, that's on a general statement. We have outlier communities that some are at higher price points, of course, For different markets and different niches and strategies within a particular market. But as a general statement, The new communities that we're opening are very similar from a price point standpoint to where we are today. And then looking at the communities again, Centric Complete Communities are down year over year. Most of the other regions are up. Speaker 300:25:36You referenced a number of times the expectation to see some growth in Century Complete Communities. Is it communities that are growing? Is it the average size of the community within Century complete increasing? A little bit more Yes. So the average size is definitely increasing in Century Complete. Speaker 300:25:57And also some of that's timing differences as well, because Just as a reminder, Century Complete only buys finished lots. And so sometimes there may be delays on A developer bringing the lots to us from a cycle time. And so there could just be certain mix delays within these Within a particular point in time, but as a general statement, the communities are getting bigger. Speaker 100:26:25Thank you. Operator00:26:28The next question is from Alan Ratner with Zelman and Associates. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:26:34Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Nice quarter. Hi, Alan. Question on the incentives. Speaker 600:26:39So, it sounds like They were pretty steady both on orders and closings during the quarter around 700 bps, but based on your, I guess, comments for 4th quarter, it sounds like you expect an uptick there. What was the trend on orders, I guess, through the quarter and into September October? Have you seen That incentive number rising here Speaker 300:27:01thus far in October? Speaker 200:27:03Yes, we have. As we look at The Q3 and coming into the Q4, interest rates have continued to stay high and actually And so when we look at the cost of buying down mortgages to be able to offer Something in that mid-five percent range, it just becomes more costly, depending on as the rate continues to increase. So yes, We have definitely seen the increase and we expect to continue to see an increase. Speaker 600:27:37Got it. Okay. That makes sense. And then The rate you're offering in that 5% to 6% range, how are you thinking about that in that if rates continue to kind of gradually move higher from here, Is that an important kind of line in the sand where you feel like once you get above a 6% rate or Yes, in the mid-6s that you see a pretty dramatic pullback in demand or will that base kind of gradually move higher along with the current Prevailing rate, it's just kind of you're trying to ease that trajectory a little bit? Speaker 300:28:13That's really hard to I mean, obviously, the way we're mitigating the high rates is to buy them down. And we even have some programs For a small dollar amount on very, very select communities that are in the high 4% range, obviously, that's very costly right now. And but we like a 5 handle on it currently. If rates continue to go up and they get up approaching close to 9%, then the reality is Our rates are going other than what we do know for a fact is that at the current lifted rates, it is costing us more on the buy downs currently. Speaker 600:29:01Got it. Great. And if I could sneak in one more. The big increase in your lot count this quarter, can you provide a little bit of color around What's the these lots that you're tying up today, when should we expect that to flow through to community count growth? What's the Pricing trends in the land market today and are you seeing any compelling distressed opportunities either from BFR deals falling through or Some other factors that might have contributed to the big jump in lot count this quarter. Speaker 300:29:33So we are buying from VFR operators, operators that Picked up lot positions. They were either going to get a fee builder on it or build it themselves. We've been successful in Purchasing lots from those entities, so that's been a positive. In terms of the timing of The increase, as you see, it really increased our control percentage and we telegraphed this in our previous calls that we were going to increase our land based How we changed in 2022 on some of our controlled positions with a decrease based on market conditions, We wanted to get back up to levels we felt comfortable with and this has been a good start in the Q3 to get there. There are a variety of lot types From finished lots, that's obviously our preference if we can get finished lots and adjust in time basis. Speaker 300:30:23And so we have Some of those as far as development deals that we are developing, those depend on municipalities and timelines, Alan, as I know you know these answers, But they're anywhere from 12 months to 24 months generally before they start development and then you go from there. So it's kind of an All across the board structure on the land. But we feel really good about the control positions we have. They're in the markets We want them to be in the higher growth markets, some of the markets Dale alluded to on this call, and we feel really good about them. And one just last thing, you also asked about distress. Speaker 300:31:04We have not seen any significant distress in the market. We are seeing things open up a little bit where financing is being tighter for the privates. They're not able to compete. It's really competition against Public to public. And so certain things are opening up, but as far as distress, I wouldn't go that far yet. Speaker 600:31:26Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Speaker 400:31:29You're welcome. Operator00:31:30The next question is from Alex Barron with Housing Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:31:36Yes, thank you. Yes, I was curious if you guys could tell us how many homes you started this quarter? That's my first question. Speaker 300:31:46Yes. This quarter, in terms of starts, we did 2,434 homes. So we're pretty much matching what we're doing from a sales pace. Speaker 700:31:57Got it. Yes, my other question was, last Here I think several builders engaged in trying to find the market clearing price And obviously that had an impact on margins. This year it seems like everybody is focused on buying down rates instead, which I think is Probably healthier. I'm just kind of curious if as we're approaching year end, are you do you believe That's likely going to continue to be the case? Or are you starting to see some of that activity of people trying to compete on cutting prices? Speaker 200:32:34Well, I guess we'll see as we get closer to the end of the year. Right now, the incentive that buyers are most Interested in is to have a below market interest rate. And you can certainly see why it dramatically lowers their cost ownership. And so that's where our focus has been. And as we look at our competitors, that's where their focus has been so far as well. Speaker 700:33:00Okay. Well, hopefully, we'll keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way because it seems like a more Rational way to compete, I think. Speaker 800:33:10Yes. Speaker 700:33:12And, yes, other than that, Do you believe in general that because you said you expect growth in units for next So do you believe you're just going to that's going to happen based on growing community count, but maybe slightly lower sales pace? Speaker 300:33:33That's tough to say. We think that we're well positioned today that if Call it 250 to 260 community count going into next year, given our current sales pace, we feel good about being able to deliver those homes. We'll comment more on future guidance when we get into our Q4 call, and we may have a little bit of a better flavor on what we think absorption will be next year by then. Operator00:34:04The next question is from Michael Rehaut with JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:34:10Hi, guys. This is Andrew Ozzio on for Mike. Thank you for taking the question. Congrats on the quarter. Speaker 300:34:16I just Speaker 100:34:17wanted to Speaker 800:34:18yes, I just wanted to ask if you guys have put out maybe an absorption target that you're managing the business to and If there's maybe a level where if that if it gets below that, you'd get much more aggressive on incentives and discounts and things like that. Speaker 300:34:36No, no, we haven't done that. We manage all the communities in our divisions and markets individually, but we do not have any company stated Absorption pace. Speaker 800:34:49Got it. And then I'm not sure if you guys have alluded to how demand has been trending in October. And I'm just curious, I believe I heard the cancellation on this 13%, which is similar to last quarter, Just given how impressive orders were this quarter and the entry level exposure, curious how cancellation rates have stayed so low? Speaker 200:35:15Yes. Our cancellation rates last quarter was 16%, which is consistent with where we had been running, Down quite a bit from what we were experiencing pre COVID in the low to mid-twenty percent range. And I think that's as we said in our prepared remarks, it's really a reflection of 2 things. 1, we're selling later in the construction cycle so that The consumer can know what his interest rate is and we can lock that as Which is the primary factor as well as people are starting to adjust to these higher rates. With regard to Although as we get later in the year, we start really being impacted by seasonality that happens Speaker 800:36:20Thank you. I appreciate that. Operator00:36:24The next question is a follow-up from Alex Barron with Housing Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:36:30Yes. Thank you. I was curious if you guys would be able to share some of your average statistics For what a typical consumer looks like and maybe even break it down into a century complete, meaning like what's the average household income, What's the average cycle? What's the average down payment? Those types of things. Speaker 300:36:55I think that we can look at providing something like that offline as opposed to going into all the nitty gritty details here or we can look at putting something into one of our Investor decks going forward in the future. Speaker 700:37:08Okay. I think that would be helpful. Main reason I'm asking is because I think there's this notion that how can a median household income afford A home today and I think the answer is it's not your typical median household income buying homes. I think it's more like the upper You know, quintile or something. So I think it'd be helpful for investors to see what the profile of a typical buyer today is. Speaker 300:37:40Yes, we've been in your piece today, Alex. So appreciate where you're coming from there and Dave can we have all those statistics, Dave Operator00:37:55This concludes our question and answer session. We will now turn the line back over to Dale for some brief closing remarks. Speaker 200:38:02Thank you, operator. To everyone on the call, Thank you for your time today and interest in Century Communities. To our employees, thank you for your incredible efforts, Dedication to Century and commitment to our valued homebuyers. To our investors, we appreciate your continued support and look forward to speaking with you again next quarter ensuring our continued progress and outlook for 2024. Operator00:38:29The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today'sRead morePowered by