Builders are generally optimistic for 2015, especially as gas prices have decreased and the winter is milder, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Though D.R. Horton posted a 35 percent increase in sales orders for its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, beating analysts’ expectations of 25 percent, this year might see their relatively fat profit margins slim down. This is because first-time homebuyers are poised to enter the market, and builders like D.R. Horton will sell a greater number of affordable homes and use sales incentives to do so.