Pacesetter Homes Posts $1.8-Million 3rd-Quarter Loss : Construction: The builder of low- and mid-priced single-family homes blamed a continuing soft market and a voluntary write-down on the value of several hundred lots.

Pacesetter Homes Inc. said Friday that it lost $1.8 million in the third quarter, contrasted with net income of $2.7 million a year earlier.

The company said a continuing soft market for new homes caused revenue for the period to fall 60% to $11.1 million from $27.6 million in the third quarter of 1989.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Pacesetter posted a net loss of $2.2 million, down from a $2.9-million profit in the corresponding period in 1989. Revenue declined 32% to $34.6 million from $51 million a year earlier.

Pacesetter Homes builds low- and mid-priced single-family residences throughout Southern California. It also develops land for sale to other builders, according to Dave Reese, vice president and chief financial officer of the publicly traded company.

Reese said the third-quarter loss came mainly from a voluntary write-down of the value of several hundred finished lots that the company owns in projects in Palmdale and Nevada. In the current housing market, Reese said, the value of the lots, which Pacesetter intends to sell to other builders, is no longer as high as shown on Pacesetter’s books.

The company is still building and selling homes in Riverside and San Diego counties, and Reese said that while sales have slowed considerably, “they still are doing OK.”

Like most builders, however, the company’s cost of selling homes has jumped because of price cuts and other incentives intended to lure buyers.

The company’s stock closed at $5.50 a share on the over-the-counter market Friday, unchanged for the day.