William Lyon Homes said today that new home orders dropped nearly 34 percent during 2006, according to preliminary new home orders, closings and backlog information provided by company. The company said it received orders for 2,202 homes during 2006, down from 3,321 one year earlier.

William Lyon said its cancellation rate for the three months ended December 31, 2006 was 35 percent, compared to 31 percent for the three months ended December 31, 2005. The company’s cancellation rate for the twelve months ended December 31, 2006 was 33 percent, more than double the 16 percent reported for the same period one year ago. The number of homes closed by the West Coast homebuilder during the three months ended December 31, 2006 was 938, a decrease of 36 percent compared to 1,468 for the three months ended December 31, 2005. The number of homes closed during the twelve months ended December 31, 2006 was 2,887, a decrease of 10 percent as compared to 3,196 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2005. William Lyon Homes focuses on building homes on the West Coast, and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. For more information, visit http://www.lyonhomes.com.