As Toll Brothers prepares to take a write-down of between $250 million and $450 million for the quarter that ended October 31, the luxury home builder’s chief executive says the media is aiding and abetting the national housing market meltdown. Perhaps as the presidential campaign heats up and moves to the front page, negative articles about housing will move off the front page, said Robert Toll. Then, hopefully, the positive underpinnings of low interest rates, low unemployment and a decent economy will raise new-home-buyer confidence. Toll also gave out letter grades for the markets it operates in and found the New York City area is performing better than just about anywhere else in the country: The company’s city living projects in suburban New York and New Jersey got grades of B or B-plus, while the majority of Toll’s markets got grades of F or F-minus.
Blame for Poor Home Sales? It’s the Press, a Builder Says [NY Times]
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