Home builders say they're no longer focused on profit these days - go figure - but are trying to hold enough cash to survive until the turnaround. From today's Wall Street Journal:

Other builders have reported frozen sales in recent weeks as they faced stiff competition from bargained-priced foreclosures. Meantime, deteriorating consumer confidence is leading to home-contract cancellations as high as 80% in some markets.

"Home buyers, to a large extent, in October were on strike," Jeffrey Peterson, chief executive of Standard Pacific Homes of Irvine, Calif., said Tuesday at an investor conference.

Among builders active in the Tampa Bay area, the Journal says Beazer Homes is having a hard time coming up with cash. As we reported before, builders like Lennar and M/I have sold off thousands of lots locally to satisfy the need for cash.