In recent years, builders have bullishly bought up land with plans to take advantage of a hot real estate market. But they have retrenched in recent months. Despite the slump in sales, average selling prices rose in the Northeast, south central states, and West. That didn't surprise Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the University of Southern California. Conway said builders will offer incentives -- from granite countertops to a free car -- before cutting prices in a development. Conway said Horton's report, particularly the slowdown in cancellations, suggested that the housing market is nearing its bottom. But the slump could be prolonged, she said, if owners of existing homes who have delayed selling dump their houses on the market this spring. Shares of Horton rose 8 cents, to $25.47, and Meritage shares fell 8 cents, to $43.34 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
