Slumping housing market, credit crisis combine to take down Levitt Corp.

FORT LAUDERDALE — The slumping housing market has claimed a victim.

Venerable Levitt Corp. and all of its subsidiaries, including Core Communities, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Friday in Federal Bankruptcy Court for South Florida. Core Communities is the developer of St. Lucie West.

Also Friday, the company filed third quarter earnings, which provided a snapshot of its problems.

Levitt lost $169.2 million, or a whopping $8.37 a share, on revenue of $124.3 million. The loss included   a $154.3 million write down on Levitt’s real estate holdings.

CEO Alan Levan called the Chapter 11 filing “disappointing.”

"The homebuilding industry, particularly in Florida, has experienced unprecedented declines with an over supply of inventory and waning demand exacerbated by the recent disruptions in the credit market,” Levan said. “Levitt Corp. results for the quarter are a reflection of the deeply challenging environment in the housing sector.”

In a press release, the company said the credit crisis, which arose in August, exacerbated Levitt’s problem, as prospective homebuyers had difficulty getting mortgages and and contracts for home sales were canceled.

Lawrence E. Young of AP Services was named chief restructuring officer to lead the company through bankruptcy reorganization.

The first hearing is scheduled for Monday morning at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.

Levitt began business in 1929, founded by Abraham Levitt and his sons, William and Alfred.

In the late 1940s and 1950s, the company made history, building Levittowns on Long Island and in Pennsylvania to cater to returning World War II veterans.

BankAtlantic bought Levitt for $21 million in 1999, later spinning it off as a public company.