Conference Call Highlights: Government Won't Save Homebuilders In D.C. Either

Robert Toll, CEO of homebuilder Toll Brothers on Toll's FQ408 conference call:

Q: You expect DC to illustrate stabilization sort of relatively sooner then other regions have you seen any traction in this yet?

A: I do expect that to be the case and no I haven’t seen any backup to my thesis yet. It's logical but it hasn’t occurred.

Some industry insiders believed the expansion of government would help protect the Washington D.C. area from the brunt of the downturn. Both residential and commercial real estate in the D.C. area show signs of a continued downward trend:

Law firms have merged or dissolved over the past year, leaving a glut of commercial office space in the Washington D.C. area, writes WSJ. The Washington Business Journal reports:

Now that the new Monroe Avenue bridge in Alexandria is completed, eyes will turn toward the Alexandria portion of Potomac Yard. Pulte Homes Inc. (PHM), Centex Homes (CTX) and MRP Realty are working on the project, which will include office, retail, hotel and residential space. Major construction probably won’t start this year because of the economy, but discussions about locating a Metro station at the site might heat up in 2009.

============

To read the full conference call transcript, click here. Seeking Alpha offers excerpts from our free earnings transcripts every day. To view other excerpts or to add the service to your watchlist, click here.