Toll Bros. Inc., of Horsham, said today that times were still tough for the housing market and that preliminary results showed 30 percent lower sales for home building in its fiscal second quarter, which ended April 30.

"The just-completed spring selling season was quite weak in most markets as buyers remained on the sidelines," Robert I. Toll, chairman and chief executive officer, said as the company announced preliminary numbers in advance of a full second-quarter filing June 3.

The company did not offer per-share information in its preliminary numbers.

"Sooner or later, they will buy. But, unfortunately, we can't predict when," Toll said, during a conference call.

The luxury home builder reported preliminary revenue of $817.9 million for home building, down from $1.17 billion a year earlier.

Revenue from land sales was $800,000 for the quarter, compared with $2 million in the period a year earlier.

Sales for home building for the last six months were down 27 percent, to $1.66 billion from $2.26 billion in the year-earlier period.

The average price for a new-home contract signed in the quarter slipped to $590,000 from $711,000 a year earlier, and $634,000 in the first 2008 quarter.

The cancellation rate was at 24.9 percent from 28.4 percent in the previous quarter, and 29.8 percent in the year-earlier second quarter.

Toll Bros. attributed lower average home prices to several factors, including an increase in sales in lower-priced communities, and fewer sales in high-priced markets such as California and Manhattan.

Because the company owns several years' supply of land in most markets, it said it did not have to keep buying land and can handle the slower pace of sales. "With no major public debt due until 2011, we believe we can sustain this strategy for quite some time," Robert Toll said.

Toll's chief financial officer, Joel H. Rassman, said the builder expected to "continue to face challenging times." Toll Bros. expects to report quarterly pretax charges of $225 million to $375 million to write down land values.

Bruce Toll, vice chairman of Toll Bros., is also chairman of Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com.

Shares closed down 10 cents, or 0.43 percent, at $23.27.