Yet another sign of a weakening D/FW housing market

D.R. Horton pulls out of
buying Hank Haney’s McKinney golf ranch.

Here’s the key points relevant to the housing slowdown:

What happened to Mr. Haney illustrates the pitfalls a growing number of property owners face. The housing market is getting weaker, and homebuilders are pulling out of projects.

Horton's cancellation rate for new homes for its fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, climbed to 40 percent, up significantly from 29 percent in the third quarter. The company received 1,252 fewer orders for new homes in the 12 months ending in September than in the year-ago period.

So, Ellen Clark and Hank Haney, along with real estate analysts, all see the signs of a slowing housing market. Is City Manager Jim Landon listening as he drives other people, like Superintendent Larry Lewis, around the town?

Sidebar: Well-known Horton manager Steve Topletz was the principal involved on its side. And it sounds like Haney’s thinking about suing. Given that Topletz has filed or threatened enough suits in the past, turnabout would certainly be fair play. On the other hand, it sounds like Haney goofed by not having a 30-day clause for getting his personal property off the site after the sale closed. On the third hand, why wouldn’t Horton/Topletz have this in the contract in the first place?

Sidebar 2: It’s said when I can’t find this story on the Morning News website after doing not one but two keyword searches and Google News spits it up immediately. Score another for the Snooze, even with its vaunted move to a more online-based newspaper.