BZH Beazer Homes USA Inc New

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. Reports Preliminary Home Orders, Closings and Backlog for the Quarter and Nine Months Ended June 30, 2004 * Q3 New Home Orders of 4,869, up 3% year-over-year ATLANTA, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) ( http://www.beazer.com/ ) today released preliminary unit net orders, closings and backlog for the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2004. New Orders (Units) For the Quarter For the Nine Months Ended June 30, Ended June 30, % % 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change Southeast 1,657 1,673 -1.0% 4,336 4,316 0.5% West 1,823 1,474 23.7% 5,162 3,690 39.9% Central 297 332 -10.5% 833 860 -3.1% Mid-Atlantic 427 434 -1.6% 1,146 1,382 -17.1% Midwest 665 821 -19.0% 1,728 2,206 -21.7% Total 4,869 4,734 2.9% 13,205 12,454 6.0% Closings (Units) For the Quarter For the Nine Months Ended June 30, Ended June 30, % % 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change Southeast 1,340 1,204 11.3% 3,794 3,390 11.9% West 1,562 1,174 33.0% 4,180 3,309 26.3% Central 216 296 -27.0% 664 834 -20.4% Mid-Atlantic 409 261 56.7% 1,094 789 38.7% Midwest 534 681 -21.6% 1,621 2,073 -21.8% Total 4,061 3,616 12.3% 11,353 10,395 9.2% Backlog (Units) As of June 30, % 2004 2003 Change Southeast 2,863 2,793 2.5% West 3,269 2,214 47.7% Central 565 533 6.0% Mid-Atlantic 1,169 1,293 -9.6% Midwest 1,412 1,745 -19.1% Total 9,278 8,578 8.2% Preliminary backlog sales value as of June 30, 2004 totals $2.32 billion, up 30% from the backlog sales value of $1.78 billion as of June 30, 2003. The increase in new home orders for the quarter resulted from strong order growth in the Company's West region, notably California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, and in certain Southeast markets, notably Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. This was partially offset mainly by lower orders in the Midwest and in parts of the Carolinas. The increase in new orders from those markets with higher average sales prices resulted in all-time record backlog in terms of both units and sales value. Closings of 4,061 homes represents a third quarter record and resulted from strong closings in both the Company's West and Mid-Atlantic regions, with year-over-year increases of 33% and 57%, respectively. The increase in closings in the Southeast resulted from strong closings in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, partially offset by declines in parts of the Carolinas. Beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, the Company will announce its quarterly new orders, closings and backlog units at the time of its quarterly earnings release, as the Company believes this data is more meaningful within the context of comprehensive quarterly financial results. Beazer Homes USA, Inc., based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the country's ten largest single-family homebuilders with operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Beazer Homes also provides mortgage origination and title services to its homebuyers. DATASOURCE: Beazer Homes USA, Inc. CONTACT: Leslie H. Kratcoski, Director, Investor Relations of Beazer Homes USA, Inc., +1-770-829-3700, or Web site: http://www.beazer.com/

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