Toll Brothers, the largest US builder of luxury homes, reported preliminary third quarter sales on Wednesday that were stronger than expected and said fewer customers were cancelling orders for new homes. Not all home builders are reporting such good news. Beazer homes, reporting on losses for their latest quarter ($109.7 million) is also being investigated. Other builders have also posted losses for their last quarter as well.

So what is Toll Brothers' secret? According to them, they mainly builds homes when there are orders. Most home builders build at least 40 percent of their homes before having buyers, according to analyst for the AP. I would have to agree with that statement, there is evidence of it all over Las Vegas. Too many builders failed to properly market their properties and get them under contract before they were built. The sub prime market crash certainly didn't help matters. Some buyers simply couldn't get financing.

Toll Brothers has several projects under construction in Las Vegas. Fairway Hills Townhomes in the Summerlin village of the Ridges is a perfect example of their strategy at work. The community went on sale in 2007 are being built as they are sold. Toll Brothers has also scaled down the size of their communities. Vita Bella townhomes in Lake Las Vegas has only 79 properties for sale, small compared other neighborhoods at Lake Las Vegas. Sales are still down for Toll Brothers compared to prior years, but that's to be expected. Even luxury market buyers are looking for bargains. Unlike other builders, Toll Brothers hasn't lowered their prices,which is great news for consumers who have bought homes in their developments. Whether they will be able to continue to do remains to be seen.