Latest news with #JohnHo
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
12 Essential Smart Home Innovations Redefining Luxury Living
LA Times Studios may earn commission from purchases made through our links. Luxury, once a synonym for extravagance, is being quietly rewritten. In today's most coveted homes, the magic is in what you don't see: integrated tech, invisible comfort, and materials that work smarter. The new gold standard isn't what you can show off, but how your home supports and adapts to the life you actually live. Welcome to the era of the high-performance smart home. Homes are no longer relying on single-use gadgets or novelty light bulbs. Instead, truly integrated platforms like Ecobee quietly orchestrate everything from temperature to indoor air quality and even daily routines. These systems learn your patterns, like when you wake up, leave home, and when you return, and make invisible adjustments that cut energy costs and freshen the air. John Ho, CEO of Landsea Homes, explains that homeowners today are now increasingly expecting the latest tech features, and Landsea Homes has taken note, making these features standard instead of premium upgrades. The result is a home that feels responsive, supportive, and easy to live in from day one. Technology can clutter a room or vanish into it. The new smart home prefers the latter. And as one design expert puts it, 'Every high-performance home works as a system.' Whether it's smart lighting that mimics the sun's rhythm or motorized window shades that optimize comfort, the most advanced features tend to be the least obtrusive, letting design and daylight take center stage. Even televisions have become masters of disguise, like with Samsung's The Frame, which displays art when not in use, blending seamlessly with gallery walls. The Tapo D225 2K Smart Doorbell delivers sharp, real-time video feeds of visitors and deliveries, ensuring awareness even when you're away from home. Minimalist and easy to use, the Google Nest Smart Thermostat quietly handles schedules and comfort settings, adjusting the temperature automatically and blending into the wall with its subtle, understated design. Built-In Air Purifiers – The Levoit Core 600S keeps indoor air fresh by quietly filtering out allergens and pollutants, running day and night without drawing attention to itself. AI-Driven Lighting – With Philips Hue, lighting adapts to your daily rhythms. Enjoy gentle sunrise tones in the morning or a cozy, dim glow for movie nights. Air-Quality Sensors – AirVisual Pro Indoor Monitor detects invisible issues like radon, VOCs, and humidity, and triggers connected systems to respond when air quality dips. Water Leak Sensors – Moen Flo Detectors stand guard under sinks and behind appliances, sending an alert at the first sign of a leak. Motorized Window Shades – Yoolax Motorized Roller Shades can be controlled by voice, set to a schedule, or programmed to move with the sun, offering privacy and helping regulate temperature with minimal effort. WaterSense Fixtures The Moen Align Faucet pairs a modern, streamlined look with EPA-certified water efficiency, offering style and sustainability in equal measure. Real-Time Energy Dashboards Wiser Energy Smart Home Monitor provides instant feedback on energy use, making it easy to spot where electricity is being used (or wasted) throughout the day. Automated Energy Optimization EcoFlowSmart Home Panel 2 stores solar-generated electricity to power your home during outages or peak-demand hours. Passive Cooling Features Solar Venting Skylights automatically open and close to let in fresh air and daylight, helping to keep your home comfortable and reducing the need for air conditioning. Hidden and Integrated TechSolutions like the Samsung The Frame TV and low-profile speaker systems are designed to blend into your décor, proving that technology can disappear until you need it. Why These Innovations Matter: These features quietly handle life's logistics, so residents have more time and headspace for what matters most. No magic tricks, just good design, intelligently applied. A modern home does more than just look the part. It should actively support the people who live there. Air quality monitors, for example, aren't just decorative; they're part of a network that quietly coordinates ventilation and filtration, adjusting in real time. In cities or wildfire-prone areas, this kind of system can make a genuine difference in daily comfort. Water leak sensors catch small issues before they become emergencies, saving both stress and repairs. And whole-home batteries keep the essentials running (lights, Wi-Fi, refrigeration) so a blackout is little more than a brief inconvenience. These aren't flashy upgrades; they're quiet, competent essentials that speak to thoughtful design. No home becomes smart overnight. Every system requires a setup phase, a few tweaks, and the occasional update. Some features, like air quality and climate, make a noticeable difference from the start, while others work best as part of a whole. Savvy homeowners start with the essentials and add layers as needs or routines change. The best part? Once everything is running, the home quietly recedes, letting you focus on living, not troubleshooting. Luxury is no longer about putting everything on display. The new standard is a home that's easy to live in, quietly supportive, and resilient enough for whatever the world brings. The smartest homes work so well that you barely notice them.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landsea Homes Corp (LSEA) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Shifts Amid Revenue ...
Release Date: May 13, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Home sales revenue increased by 2% year over year, driven by a 27% increase in deliveries. Net new orders for the quarter increased by 11% year over year, indicating strong demand. Florida showed significant growth with a 52% increase in deliveries and a 53% increase in revenue. The company is focusing on a strategic shift towards pre-sold homes, which offers better margin opportunities. Landsea Homes Corp (NASDAQ:LSEA) ended the quarter with $256 million in liquidity, showing financial stability. The company recorded a net loss of $7.3 million for the first quarter. Average closing prices declined by 20% due to a shift towards lower-priced regions and elevated incentives. Gross margins were negatively impacted by discounts and incentives, representing 9.6% of gross home sales revenue. SG&A expenses increased by 180 basis points due to higher sales and marketing costs. The company anticipates that incentive levels will remain elevated throughout 2025, potentially impacting margins. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with LSEA. Q: Can you provide an overview of Landsea Homes' financial performance for the first quarter of 2025? A: John Ho, CEO, reported a net loss of $7.3 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. Home sales revenue increased by 2% year-over-year, driven by a 27% increase in deliveries, although average closing prices declined by 20% due to a shift in sales mix and increased incentives. Q: What strategic decisions did Landsea Homes make regarding its inventory and sales approach? A: John Ho, CEO, stated that the company decided to sell through some of its spec home inventory to achieve a more balanced approach between spec sales and build-to-order homes. The goal is to return to a 50-50 split between these two types of closings over time. Q: How did different regions perform in terms of home deliveries and sales? A: Michael Forsum, President and COO, noted that Florida led in delivery contributions, followed by Arizona and Texas. Florida saw a 52% growth in deliveries and a 53% increase in revenue, while Texas contributed 126 deliveries and $48 million in home sales revenue. Q: What impact did incentives have on Landsea Homes' margins? A: Christopher Porter, CFO, explained that discounts and incentives represented 9.6% of gross home sales revenue, impacting gross margins. The home sales gross margin before inventory impairments was 13.5%, with adjusted gross margin at 20%. Q: What is the outlook for incentives and mortgage rates moving forward? A: Christopher Porter, CFO, indicated that incentive levels are expected to remain elevated through 2025, fluctuating with the mortgage rate environment. The company anticipates incentive levels to be in the 7% to 9% range in the second quarter. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landsea Homes Corp (LSEA) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Shifts Amid Revenue ...
Release Date: May 13, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Home sales revenue increased by 2% year over year, driven by a 27% increase in deliveries. Net new orders for the quarter increased by 11% year over year, indicating strong demand. Florida showed significant growth with a 52% increase in deliveries and a 53% increase in revenue. The company is focusing on a strategic shift towards pre-sold homes, which offers better margin opportunities. Landsea Homes Corp (NASDAQ:LSEA) ended the quarter with $256 million in liquidity, showing financial stability. The company recorded a net loss of $7.3 million for the first quarter. Average closing prices declined by 20% due to a shift towards lower-priced regions and elevated incentives. Gross margins were negatively impacted by discounts and incentives, representing 9.6% of gross home sales revenue. SG&A expenses increased by 180 basis points due to higher sales and marketing costs. The company anticipates that incentive levels will remain elevated throughout 2025, potentially impacting margins. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with LSEA. Q: Can you provide an overview of Landsea Homes' financial performance for the first quarter of 2025? A: John Ho, CEO, reported a net loss of $7.3 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. Home sales revenue increased by 2% year-over-year, driven by a 27% increase in deliveries, although average closing prices declined by 20% due to a shift in sales mix and increased incentives. Q: What strategic decisions did Landsea Homes make regarding its inventory and sales approach? A: John Ho, CEO, stated that the company decided to sell through some of its spec home inventory to achieve a more balanced approach between spec sales and build-to-order homes. The goal is to return to a 50-50 split between these two types of closings over time. Q: How did different regions perform in terms of home deliveries and sales? A: Michael Forsum, President and COO, noted that Florida led in delivery contributions, followed by Arizona and Texas. Florida saw a 52% growth in deliveries and a 53% increase in revenue, while Texas contributed 126 deliveries and $48 million in home sales revenue. Q: What impact did incentives have on Landsea Homes' margins? A: Christopher Porter, CFO, explained that discounts and incentives represented 9.6% of gross home sales revenue, impacting gross margins. The home sales gross margin before inventory impairments was 13.5%, with adjusted gross margin at 20%. Q: What is the outlook for incentives and mortgage rates moving forward? A: Christopher Porter, CFO, indicated that incentive levels are expected to remain elevated through 2025, fluctuating with the mortgage rate environment. The company anticipates incentive levels to be in the 7% to 9% range in the second quarter. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 Landsea Homes Corp Earnings Call
Drew Mackintosh; Investor Relations; Landsea Homes Corp John Ho; Chief Executive Officer, Director; Landsea Homes Corp Michael Forsum; President, Chief Operating Officer; Landsea Homes Corp Christopher Porter; Chief Financial Officer; Landsea Homes Corp Operator Good day everyone and welcome to today's Landsea Homes Corporation first-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this call may be recorded and I will be standing by if you should need any is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Drew Mackintosh, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Drew Mackintosh Good morning and welcome to Landsea Homes first-quarter 2025 earnings the call begins, I would like to note that this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal Securities laws. Landsea Homes cautions and forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties which change over time. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the risk factors described by Landsea Homes in filings with the Securities and Exchange do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. Additionally, reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call to the most comparable GAAP measures. Can be accessed through Landsea Home's website and in its SEC the call today are John Ho, Landsea's Chief Executive Officer; Mike Forsum, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Chris Porter, Chief Financial that, I'd like to turn the call over to John. John Ho Good morning and thank you for joining us today as we go over our results for the first quarter of 2025 to provide an update on our Homes recorded a net loss of $7.3 million in the first quarter for a net loss of $0.20 per diluted share. Home sales revenue increased 2% year over year on a 27% increase in deliveries. Partially offset by a 20% decline in average closing in average prices were due in part to a mixed shift from higher price California communities to a higher contribution of closings from our Florida and Texas incentive activity during the quarter also contributed to the decrease in ASPs. Net new orders for the quarter increased 11% year over year on a sales pace of 3.0 homes per community per we are encouraged by the demand elasticity we saw during the quarter as buyers responded to declines in mortgage rates and higher incentives. Border activity started off slowly to begin the year, then picked up as the quarter remains an important issue for most buyers, so financing incentives for a key driver of sales during the continue to balance pace versus price at each of our communities with a slight lean towards pace, all things being equal. As a production home builder, we feel it is important to price the market, maintain a base level of sales also made the strategic decision to sell through some of our spec home inventory in an effort to return to a more balanced approach between spec sales and built to order homes, with 67% of our first quarter deliveries also sold in the same goal is to return to a fifty-fifty split between specs and build to order closings over time. There are several reasons for this strategic build times have returned to pre-COVID levels, which has shortened the time frame between selling and closing on a pre-sold the margin opportunities are much greater with a pre-sold home, as it gives us the ability to charge more for lock premiums and other new home also allows the buyer to pick out high margin options and upgrades for their home as opposed to the standardized packages found in spec reducing our spec levels lowers the cash tied up and standing inventory. It gives us better visibility into our future closings with the buildup of a solid balanced strategies also aligned with the company's approach to home building, which emphasizes product differentiation as a way to attract customers and grow market believe our core customer is a more discerning buyer who wants more out of a home than just a place to live. That is why we have developed and refined our high performance home series to offer the latest in new home technology and the pandemic has been over for some time, people continue to spend more time at home than ever before. Whether it's a work from home situation, in-home entertainment, or just dining feel that this stay at home dynamic plays into our strengths and believe buyers will pay a premium for a home that fits their lifestyle. Of course, there are other factors that play into the decision-making process when buying a home, the biggest of which is is why we continue to work with buyers to find a new home solution and monthly payment that suits their incentives remain a popular option for our customers, looking to lower the monthly cost of home ownership, serve as a great selling tool, with buyers still looking at both new and resale incentives do, however, come at a cost to our company, representing 9% of the average closing price in the first optimistic that the combination of better pricing strategies and a higher mix of pre-sold homes will offset some of the negative effects the incentives have had on our head into the latter half of the spring selling season. We continue to see opportunities to refine our operations and increase our size and scale in the markets we currently build there is some uncertainty surrounding the near-term macro environment, we believe the long-term outlook for our industry remains positive, given the need for additional housing supply, the desire for home ownership that is on display at our communities each of punctuation is more important than ever when selling homes in uncertain times, and we feel that having communities and desirable locations and new home designs that stand out from the competition give us a distinct a result, I remain optimistic about Landsea's ability to compete and grow our operations over that, I'd like to turn the call over to Mike, who'll provide more details on our Michael Forsum Thanks John, good morning to delivered 643 homes during the first quarter of 2025, which was near the midpoint of ours of 600 to 700 closings. Florida led the way in terms of delivery contribution, followed by Arizona and John mentioned, the 20% decline in ASPs was a result of a mixed shift away from higher priced communities in California, combined with greater contributions from lower price regions. ASPs were actually up year over year in Florida and Texas, while ASPs in Arizona declined only sales pace in the first quarter came at the lower end of our targeted range of 3 to 4 sales per community per month. Arizona posted the highest absorption pace at 3.8, followed by Colorado at 3.7, and Florida at I would characterize current new home demand conditions as uneven, with consistent traffic levels being offset by hesitancy to move forward on behalf of buyers. In most instances, however, we can find a way to keep conversion levels steady with the right combination of incentives and pricing conditions continue to be favorable with good trade labor availability and steady flow of materials to our job lessons learned during the pandemic and the best practices put in place have resulted in a more streamlined home building operation for a company, leading to much faster backlog conversions and build have not seen any impact from the announced tariffs or the increased scrutiny on migrant labor so far. Plot cost inflation will continue to be a margin headwind for a company in the near term, but we have had success renegotiating the terms of our lot remain disciplined in our approach to new land deals and have seen similar discipline from our competitors, giving us optimism that future land prices will reflect the realities of today's new home believe the home building ecosystem self-corrects over time, and the industries' move, a more land light operating model may accelerate the timing of that my sense is that we are outselling our competition based on our first quarter absorption pace relative to our publicly traded we have experienced some margin compression as a result of our use of incentives, we feel it is the appropriate strategy given the current market conditions and the opportunities to reinvest our capital on the other side of increased focus on pre-sales versus specs should alleviate some of that margin pressure and give us better visibility through the buildup of so I'd like to turn the call over to Chris who will provide more detail on our financial results for the first quarter and give an update on our Christopher Porter Thanks, Mike. As Mike and John mentioned, our top line growth of 11% on orders, 27% on deliveries, and 2% on home sales revenue were bright spots in the quarter. Florida delivered a strong 52% delivery growth and a 53% revenue growth in the quarter. Texas also pulled its weight with 126 deliveries and $48 million in home sales as a percentage of our portfolio was 20% of our home deliveries and 16% of our revenue. Discounts and incentives for the quarter continued to weigh on gross margins though, representing 9.6% of our gross home sales incentives, which followed the 10-year treasury were volatile through the quarter, starting out at elevated levels, lowered some in the end of January through mid-February, and then peaked again in drove our home sales gross margin before inventory impairments of $1.5 million to 13.5%, the midpoint of our guidance. Adjusted gross margin was reported at a consistent 20%.The $1.5 million inventory impairment was on a DFW asset where we were closing out homes and represented about 50% of our gross margin impact. Interest capitalized through cost of goods sold represented 4.6% of gross margin, and the amortization of $5.6 million in purchase price accounting in the quarter represented another 1.9% SG&A as a percentage of home sales revenue was 17%, a 180 basis point increase primarily related to higher sales and marketing costs. Despite not having DFW operations in our comparable numbers from last year, our G&A expenses were up only $731,000 or 2.8% over the first quarter of last year but remained flat as a percentage of home sales of these factored into our reported net loss for the quarter of $7.25 million or $0.20 per share. On an adjusted basis, our net loss reduced to $1.73 million or $0.05 per expect incentive levels to remain elevated through 2025 with the actual cost fluctuating with the overall mortgage rate environment. Although after the first of the year, consistently saw rate downs in the 4.99% to 5.2% quick move in homes towards late February and throughout March, these moved to 3.99% in many of our markets as we competed for closings. As we look into the second quarter, we would anticipate in incentive levels to be in the 7% to 9% to our balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $256 million in liquidity, $52.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $204 million in availability under our revolver. This was a roughly $15 million dollar improvement from the fourth debt to total capital ratio was 52.1% at the end of the quarter. A 30 basis point increase from year end, and our net debt to total capital ratio finished the quarter at 48.3%. Operator At this time I would like to turn the call back to Drew Mackintosh for closing remarks. Drew Mackintosh Thanks, Reisa. In light of the transaction announcement last night, we will not be opening the call for you for your participation. Operator This concludes today's program. Thank you for your participation and you may disconnect at any time. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landsea Homes Stock Soars On Apollo's New Home Buyout At 61% Premium
Landsea Homes (NASDAQ:LSEA) shares are trading higher on Tuesday. On Monday, the company inked a definitive deal to be acquired by Apollo Global Management, Inc.'s (NYSE:APO) managed portfolio company of funds, New Home, for an enterprise value of around $1.2 billion. As per the deal, New Home will acquire Landsea Homes for $11.30 per share in an all-cash transaction. This purchase price represents a premium of around 61% to Landsea Homes' closing share price on May 12, 2025, the last trading day before the completion of the transaction, Landsea Homes will become a privately held company, and its common stock will no longer be listed on Nasdaq. This transaction is supported by Apollo Funds, the majority shareholder of New Home since 2021, who are committing $650 million of new cash equity to facilitate this credit-enhancing transaction and position the business for future growth. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Landsea Homes Board of Directors and is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, New Home will acquire all remaining shares not tendered through a second-step merger at the same price. The combined entity is expected to provide homebuyers with a wide array of housing choices, including single-family detached and attached homes, across rapidly expanding markets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. This combination will establish an asset-light, returns-focused homebuilder with nearly 4,000 annual closings. John Ho, Chief Executive Officer of Landsea Homes said, 'We believe this transaction with New Home will deliver immediate cash value to our stockholders at a significant premium and provide us with a strong, well-capitalized partner to accelerate our next phase of growth.' In a separate release, Landsea reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted loss per share of 5 cents, exceeding the consensus estimate of 9 cents loss, while sales of $310.8 million missed the Street view of $312 million. Price Action: LSEA shares are up 60.2% at $11.24 at the last check on Tuesday. Image via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Landsea Homes Stock Soars On Apollo's New Home Buyout At 61% Premium originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
