Builders pulling back in O.C.

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Good morning, Matt Ryan. News item from this morning’s LATimes: ‘In Anaheim, city officials were alerted last week that Lennar Corp., one of the nation’s largest home builders, will halt construction on A-Town for up to a year, slowing progress on the centerpiece of what some are calling the city’s new downtown.’

More: ‘In Irvine, Lennar’s plans to build thousands of homes around the planned Orange County Great Park have been pushed back, and the city has not received an updated timeline from the developer since 2005.’

Our take:It appears planners in Orange County have put a lot of eggs in one basket, the basket known as Lennar Corp. As an aside, this is an example of how interest rate cuts by the Fed aren’t likely to produce the classic stimulatory effects right now: do you think Lennar is going to change its mind about these projects because the cost of money just dropped by 50 basis points?

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