Martha Stewart does the IE

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What’s more jarring: newly built Martha Stewart-branded houses in the Inland Empire, or in Lancaster? KB Homes is the builder in both places, and says the Stewart-branded homes are selling well.

The LA Times article linked above mentions two Martha homes that sold in Perris, one at $440,000, the other at $372,000.

But in an indication of just how soft the new home market is in Riverside County, KB Homes tells the LA Times it has cut the price even on some the Martha houses in ‘Olive Grove.’ ‘’The Riverside-San Bernardino market is quite soft right now,’ said KB Home CEO Jeffrey Mezger said. In response, KB Home has cut prices on certain Olive Grove models since January. ... Still, Mezger added, the idea behind the homes ‘generates traffic and buyers that benefit us in our other communities as well.’’

It sounds like KB Homes is happy with the way the Martha homes are selling, and in this market, anything that sells is a small success story. But we can’t imagine KB homes went into business with Martha in hopes of ‘generating traffic’ -- it did this deal to make money. The company lost $174 million in the second quarter.

Photo Credit: AP