Hovnanian’s Red Bank HQ, as seen from the foot of Maple Avenue.
Hovnanian Enterprises reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $250.8 million yesterday.
That’s down from a net loss of $450.5 million in the final fiscal quarter of 2008, the Red Bank-based homebuilder disclosed.
In announcing its results, the publicly traded company said revenue in the quarter fell to $437.4, from $721.4 a year earlier. For the full year, revenue fell by half, to $1.6 billion, from $3.3 billion.
The company has eliminated more than a third of its “active selling communities” over the past year, and touted a 60 percent increase in net new contracts at those properties that are still selling.
“A trend of improvements in sales pace is yet another sign that the housing market is at or approaching a bottom,” company CEO, president and chairman Ara Hovnanian said in the statement.