Brace yourself for some major homebuilding delays, Lennar tells customers

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, national homebuilder Lennar Corp. announced that hundreds of home deliveries would be delayed.

Miami-based Lennar said Hurricane Irma’s path along the eastern seaboard will most likely delay about 700 home deliveries in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, from its fiscal fourth quarter to the next fiscal year, according to a press release.

Hurricane Harvey impacted approximately 120 new orders and deliveries in the third quarter, and is expected to delay deliveries of 130 homes in the fourth quarter. In addition to the damage left behind by Harvey in Texas, the homebuilder estimates about 40 percent of its annual revenue will be effected by hurricanes.

The company said third quarter reports show new orders rose 8 percent from last year to 7,610 homes, and home deliveries rose 12 percent to 7,598 homes, compared to the year earlier.

Rebuilding efforts will be needed in the Florida Keys, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency assessed Hurricane Irma destroyed about 25 percent of homes in the low-lying islands of Monroe County, and damaged about 90 percent of properties.

The storm also caused about $40 billion worth of insured industry losses in the United States, according to an estimate from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide. – Amanda Rabines