US homebuilder Lennar posts bigger Q3 profit on higher home deliveries

(Reuters) -Lennar Corp posted a higher third-quarter profit on Thursday, compared with a year earlier, as a historically low housing supply kept demand strong, with declining fixed mortgage rates luring in more skittish buyers to the market.

With the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rates having declined to about 6.1%, compared with a high of 8% months ago, previously skittish buyers are returning to the housing market, boosting already robust demand for new construction.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by 50 basis points. Expectations of further rate cuts and the corresponding easing in mortgage rates have already driven shares of U.S. homebuilders to all-time highs.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) delivered 21,516 homes in the third quarter ended Aug. 31, higher than the 18,559 units a year earlier.

The second-largest U.S. homebuilder by sales posted earnings of $1.16 billion, or $4.26 per share, for the quarter, compared with $1.1 billion, or $3.87 per share, a year earlier.