Lennar Says High Rents Helped Home Orders Rise 20%

Shares of the company rose 7 percent to close at $22.25 on Wednesday.

Stocks of other home builders, like KB Home, the PulteGroup and D. R. Horton, also rose.

“As I look ahead to 2012, I am cautiously optimistic that we are seeing a real bottom form and we will begin to see signs of recovery,” Lennar’s chief executive, Stuart A. Miller, said in a conference call.

Lennar said high rents were driving customers to buy new homes, and low home prices and low interest rates were helping.

The company is experiencing more traffic at its model homes, Mr. Miller said.

Lennar reported a 20 percent increase in home orders for September to November, its fourth fiscal quarter.

Orders are a main indicator for builders, who do not book revenue until they close on a house.

In December, KB Home said that orders had risen 38 percent, with the greatest increases in higher-price West Coast markets.

Mr. Miller said some housing markets were fundamentally changing as foreclosure inventories were absorbed.

Lennar’s net income was $30.3 million, or 16 cents a share, down from $32 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue rose 11 percent, to $952.7 million. Backlog was up 35 percent at the end of the quarter.

Lennar’s profit was hurt by its Rialto Investments unit, which focuses on distressed real estate asset investments and asset management.

The company is one of the few to start such a unit, called a distressed land operation.

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