A Ryland Group townhome development in Chanhassen, Minn. (Ryland Group media image)

First-quarter profits at homebuilder The Ryland Group climbed 6.4 percent to $23.5 million, or 42 cents per share, as it sold more houses and at higher prices.

The Westlake Village-based firm notched quarterly revenue of $489.7 million, up 30.7 percent compared to a year earlier. Pretax earnings from continuing operations rose 71.9 percent to $38.2 million during the quarter ended March 31.

Ryland said closings of home sales jumped 12.5 percent to 1,470 units during the quarter and that the average home price rose 18.1 percent to $327,000. Its homebuilding segments reported pretax earnings of $46.2 million — almost double the $23.5 million for the same quarter in 2013.

New orders for future homes increased 6.6 percent to 2,186 units during the quarter. In dollar terms, new home orders rose 20.5 percent to $729.4 million.
Ryland’s financial services arm reported a pretax loss of $1.4 million, despite originating more mortgages, compared with a profit of $4.3 million for the same quarter a year earlier. The company pinned the loss on higher insurance and personnel costs.

Shares of Ryland were trading up 2.3 percent to $38.15 in late-afternoon trading on Thursday.