by Calculated Risk on 11/08/2006 02:52:00 PM

From MarketWatch: Centex CEO says housing downturn to play out more

Centex Corp. Chief Executive Tim Eller ... said judging by previous housing downturns, it normally takes about two and a half years from the peak to the trough. "So we still have further to go" since most experts place the top of the housing boom in July 2005, the CEO said. He called the decline "supply-driven" ... Also, potential buyers are having trouble selling their existing homes and are canceling, which is creating more inventory and drove price declines, Eller said. "In hindsight, we didn't take our foot off the gas pedal soon enough," he added.