Question: Why would Lennar choose to mothball its development?
Answer: Companies are taking a hard look at the market and what's happening with regard to discounting in order to move their homes. A number of builders are stepping back and saying, "If it's taking such a deep discount for us to move our houses, are we better off just stopping and waiting for the market to recover?"
Mothballing means shutting down new construction and putting future development activity on hold until the market changes, then resuming once things have improved. Lennar's developments are large-scale and in highly competitive markets, and the company is big enough to treat them as long-term assets. Also, some of its properties are in the early stages of development, when you can make that decision more easily.