Berkshire Hathaway Doubles Down on Lennar As Short-Seller Report Sends Shares Tumbling

Berkshire Hathaway has doubled down on its Lennar bet, buying over 2.4 million additional shares worth about $192.6 million, coinciding with a short seller's report that sent the US homebuilder's stock sharply lower.

A new Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows Berkshire bought 2.4 million Class A shares of Lennar and 15,028 Class B shares across trades on 1st and 2nd October. The purchases had a combined value of approximately $192.6 million, based on the weighted-average prices disclosed in the filing.

The latest buying increased Berkshire's reported Lennar position to 28.43 million Class A shares and 568,028 Class B shares. The filing identifies Berkshire as a 10% owner of Lennar, with Warren Buffett also listed as a reporting person.

Hunterbrook Flags Lennar's Relationship With Millrose Properties

Hunterbrook's investigation focused on Lennar's relationship with Millrose Properties, the land-focused company Lennar spun off in 2025.

Hunterbrook said Millrose had purchased over 700 Lennar homes across at least 51 counties in 15 states for an estimated $200 million or more over roughly a month. The report questioned whether the transactions could obscure the underlying demand for Lennar's homes. Hunterbrook also said at least 356 of those purchases occurred during the final week of Lennar's third quarter.

The timing is significant because Lennar reported its Q3 results on 16th September. The company said new orders fell 9% from a year earlier to 20,879 homes, while deliveries declined 3% to 20,840. Revenue was $8 billion and net earnings fell to $284 million, compared with $591 million a year earlier. Lennar also reported an average home sales price of $372,000 and said incentives averaged around 12% of the purchase price.

Hunterbrook also highlighted a change in Millrose's stated business model. In its 2025 annual filing, Millrose said it would not have tenants or occupants on properties in its portfolio and that its activities would not include entering into leases.

However, an amendment signed on 27th August added completed single-family homes to the assets Millrose could acquire and operate as rentals. Millrose subsequently disclosed those changes in a 1st September regulatory filing. Hunterbrook argued that the shift was significant because Millrose had originally been structured primarily as a land-bank vehicle rather than a landlord.

Lennar Lowers Delivery Target

For Q4, Lennar projected new orders of 19,500 to 20,500 homes, deliveries of 22,000 to 23,000 homes, and an average sales price of between $370,000 and $380,000. It forecast gross margin on home sales of approximately 15.5% to 16%. The company also lowered its full-year 2026 delivery target to 80,000 to 81,000 homes from its previous target of 82,000 to 83,000.

Despite the weaker results, Lennar's management argued that the underlying shortage of US housing remained supportive of long-term demand. The company said it was maintaining construction volume rather than waiting for market conditions to improve, with the aim of using scale to reduce costs and improve margins.

For investors weighing the short seller's bearish case against Lennar's own assessment of the US housing shortage, Berkshire's decision to keep accumulating the stock adds another significant point of interest.

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