The firm reported a net loss of $11.6 million during the three months ending on Sept. 30. That compares to a net loss of $41.1 million in the same period a year ago — a period that also included $21.9 million worth of “impairments,” or paper losses caused by the market downturn. There were no impairments in the just-completed third quarter, a company statement said.

In addition, the company reported:

• The average home price was down but sales per development were up.
• In California, the average selling price of a William Lyon home was $276,300 in the third quarter, down 43% from the same period a year ago.
• The average price companywide — including homes sold in Arizona and Nevada — was $245,700, down 33.4%.
• The overall number of sales was down because the number of developments with homes for sale dropped to 24 from 39 a year ago. The company sold 246 homes in the third quarter, compared to 264 a year ago.
• But sales were up per development. The company averaged 10.3 sales contracts per development this past quarter, compared to 6.8 a year ago.

In a conference call later today, company officials said average prices have dropped due mainly to a switch to selling smaller, cheaper homes. Lyon Homes currently has no homes for sale above $500,000, one company official said, a trend that started several years ago.

“It’s definitely bearing some fruit in this market where jumbo (loan) financing is challenged,” said one official (hard to tell which one was speaking, company President Bill H. Lyon or Colin Severn, interim CFO/controller).

Company officials said also that Lyon Home’s Ivy development in Woodbury East has been so successful that they’ve raised the price by $10,000 in that project’s last release of homes and discontinued all discounts except for a financing incentive. The Ivy attached townhomes, with prices starting below $400,000, was relaunched last summer after a delay caused by the housing slump.

Nevertheless, the Ivy project won’t be a huge help to the company’s profit margins because of a profit-sharing arrangement with the Irvine Co.,  the company official said.

“I don’t think it had a huge impact on the numbers necessarily. The Irvine Co. deals are generally underwritten at 6%, and there’s a profit participation split with 70% going to the Irvine Co. over that. But honestly, (high sales there) helps a little bit. … Sales activity continue to be good there.”

Jeff Collins