Charges Batter Centex

Centex (CTX Quote) reported a $644 million loss for its second quarter as the plummeting housing market forced the homebuilder to record nearly $1 billion of land impairment charges.

Analysts had expected the quarter to be ugly, since Centex had already announced the massive impairments earlier this month.

Centex, like other homebuilders, is facing stiff competition to sell new homes. Across the industry, builders are cutting prices to clear excess inventory. Such a scenario leads to increased impairment charges, since inventories on builder balance sheet are no longer profitable. ...