Fitch Teleconference: Upside Momentum Still Eluding U.S. Housing; Today @ 11AM ET

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A spring pick-up in new home orders did little to offset disappointing U.S. home sales during the first five months of the year, diminishing chances of much upside momentum for U.S. housing for the remainder of 2011, according to Fitch Ratings, which will host a teleconference this morning at 11 a.m. ET.

Though most public homebuilders figure to be unprofitable for the calendar second quarter (excluding noncash real estate charges), operating and financial comparisons are less challenging during the balance of the year. Fitch has initiated construction forecasts for 2012 and is projecting a modest improvement for housing off a very low bottom. Fitch will be unveiling its 2012 numbers during the conference call.

The focus of the conference call will be to discuss first quarter and more recent housing data, as well as Fitch's outlook for the U.S. housing sector and public homebuilders. The conference call follows the release of Fitch's 'U.S. Homebuilding: The Chalk Line - Quarterly Update: Summer 2011', which is available on Fitch's website at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Managing Director and lead Homebuilding Analyst Robert Curran will be the call leader and provide insights about the full year outlook for 2011 and outlook for 2012, as well as give a brief sector recap for first quarter-2011. Both Curran and Director Robert Rulla will answer questions after the formal presentation.

Following are details of the teleconference:

--Date: Monday, July 18

--Time: 11:00 a.m. ET

--Conference ID: 83934338

--U.S/Canada: [phone]

--International: [phone]

--Call Leader: Bob Curran

Replay information:

--Replay Dates: July 18, 2011, 12:00 p.m. ET - Aug. 18, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. ET

--U.S./Canada: [phone]

--International: [phone]

--Replay ID: 83934338

The conference call follows the release of Fitch's 'U.S. Homebuilding: The Chalk Line - Quarterly Update: Summer 2011', which is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

U.S. Homebuilding/Construction: The Chalk Line -- Quarterly Update: Summer 2011

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=641289

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE.