Home Builders to Sell Online

The five largest U.S. home builders said they will start a company to list homes and related products on the Internet, in the latest example of competing companies forming an industrywide Web alliance. The companies, Centex Corp., D.R. Horton Inc., Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., Lennar Corp. and Pulte Corp., said that the site will be open to all builders and that they expect to list more than 200,000 homes. Customers who buy homes via the site will have access to a database of information on their home’s construction, materials, suppliers and contractors, the companies said. On the New York Stock Exchange, Centex shares jumped $1.06 to close at $23.19, Lennar rose 63 cents to $21.13 and Kaufman & Broad rose 56 cents to $21.38.