NEW YORK (Reuters) - Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday posted lower third-quarter profit and cut its outlook for the fourth quarter due to weak demand for home goods, sending the upscale retailer's shares down 8 percent.

Our (third-quarter) revenue growth of 3 percent was slightly below our expectations due to further softening in the Pottery Barn brand and increasing volatility of our other home furnishings brands," Howard Lester, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"As both of these trends have continued into the fourth quarter, we are increasingly concerned about the 'home-related' macro-economic environment, as well as the competitive landscape -- which is becoming highly promotional," he said.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma fell $2.79 to $32.08 on the New York Stock Exchange.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

AC,

Well said. This brief respite threw me off a little but you make sense. I think the incentives are starting to sell houses for the builders and are giving them confidence that they can rid their inventory. This has delayed layoffs and will delay the foreclosures in mass due to job losses. The affordability crisis you speak of will be a slower, less dramatic process but just as effective. (Tsunami v.s. Tidal Wave). I think the price reductions in the new builders will make resale homes that much harder to unload, perhaps acclerating the problem when resets hit. Creative refi's like 125% LTV can push of the inevitable that much longer.

Once the supply overwhelms and the builders stop building, and job losses from construction and the elimination of MEW start to kick in...it will acclerate rapidly.

When that will happen is anyone's guess. I think the tide still going out and people are still walking out to pick up sea shells and flopping fish. Those in the know are running as fast as they can. Pretty soon everyone will start running when they see what's happening but the wave should be way too big to outrun.....

But then of course...it could all just turn out O.K. afterall.

Fritz

The article mentions 'speculator interest declining' and I wonder if they were as vigilant in reporting it when it was inclining.
Also what, exactly, is it?
Is it renters in SoCal finally giving in and visiting the showrooms?
I didn't think so.

Here in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County y-o-y volume was negative for the 23rd straight month (since December, 2004) and 26th out of the last 27 months.

We also track housing permits issued at:
this

We will soon publish an updated "The last 30 days," so please stay tuned.

Thanks!

Deb...

Casey Serin of Foreclosure Assistance – Foreclosure Information – Free Help is going to do it 6 times in a year.

You can still get a $1M loan if you can fog a mirror here. No doc, neg-am, one day out of bankruptcy... no problem. Best Funding and Lenox Financial both advertise these conditions on the radio. All together, not individually.

John Doe.