A day after the company reported its first-ever quarterly loss, officials with Dallas-based Centex Corp. said they expect to take more write-offs because of the soft homebuying market.

The big homebuilder, which has already cut 17 percent of its staff, also plans more job cuts, Centex chief executive and chairman Tim Eller said Wednesday in a conference call with analysts.

He cautioned that the U.S. housing market still has potential for further decline.

"This housing correction is still unfolding," Mr. Eller said. "Although we are seeing some encouraging signs in some markets, it's still too early to call the bottom."

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Centex reported a $228.2 million loss. It took $435 million in charges to get out of lot purchases and write down the value of land.

Centex expects $130 million in write-offs in the current quarter from canceled lot purchases.

"We are estimating that we will walk away from another 40 percent of our remaining option deposits," Mr. Eller said.

Although the builder has dramatically cut back the number of vacant lots it owns, Centex still has a 3.5-year supply, which is "longer than we would like," Mr. Eller said. "Most land sellers are not yet renegotiating options in a way we find acceptable."

Centex is just one of many large U.S. homebuilders that have backed out of lot acquisitions and offered purchase incentives to trim their inventory of completed homes.

While Centex has reduced the number of speculative homes it holds, Mr. Eller said, the company is still seeing high levels of purchase cancellations.

During the just completed quarter, Centex's home sales were down in every region of the country. But Mr. Eller said a few markets are doing better than others.

"Some markets are showing possible signs of stabilization," he said. "Northern California and Washington, D.C. – markets that corrected earlier than most – experienced year-over-year sales gains for the quarter.

"A few markets that have been performing well – Dallas and Houston in particular – are showing some signs of weakness," he said.

Centex is predicting that it will break even during the current quarter. But the company is still looking for ways to cut costs, including staff reductions, Mr. Eller said.

"We have aligned our workforce with our current sales pace," he said. "There will be more reductions in the [current] ... quarter."

In early 2006, Centex had more than 17,000 employees nationwide, including more than 3,000 in the Dallas area.