Toll Brothers, Fort Washington, indicated to investors last week that it is well aware of industry-wide evidence of a cool down of the years-long red-hot residential real estate construction market. Kit Norton nailed down the details of an evolving housing recession in Investors Business Daily.

Anecdotal evidence aside, even the National Association of Home Builders has noted a slowdown in activity. Its evidence includes several nationwide trends that emerged in June:

• Drops in builder confidence in single-family homes
• Declines in buyer traffic
• Contraction in open construction jobs
• Sluggishness in buyer traffic

Earnings at Toll Brothers validate an industry going soft. Wall Street predicted a national 11 percent increase for residential construction sales for 3Q2022; yet, Toll Brothers reported only a 9 percent bump.

And any disappointment resulting from looking backward isn’t mitigated much by looking forward. The Montgomery County luxury home builder has cancelled 13 percent of its signed contracts for new residences.

Toll Brothers CEO Douglas Yearley recognized the “significant decline in demand” but followed the admission with news of an increase in average weekly deposits for Aug.

“We continue to believe the long-term fundamentals underpinning the housing market remain firmly in place,” he said.

Other industry bellwethers indicate his confidence may be well-placed. The builder topped its earning views in the second quarter, reporting 83 percent growth that precipitated an 18 percent lift in revenue.

More on Toll Brothers’ mitigation strategies against an unfolding housing recession is at Investors Business Daily.