Struggling under the weight of the nation’s housing woes, KB Home (KBH) reported a worse-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter and said it expects market conditions to remain difficult or deteriorate further in 2009.

The Los Angeles-based home builder posted a sharply narrower net loss of $307.3 million, or $3.96 a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, from $772.7 million, or $9.99 a share, in the same period the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of $1.23 per share on revenue of $792.8 million.

Dwindling demand, mounting foreclosures and stricter loan standards helped push the company’s revenue down to $919 million from $2.07 billion in the year-ago period -- a 56% plunge. The company said the decline was also due in part to “strategic reductions” in its number of active selling communities.

Orders for homes during the fourth-quarter fell 52% from 8,132 to 3,912 on lower demand. At the same time, the company saw its average home sale price slide 6% to $232,200 from $247,800.

With no “meaningful recovery” in sight, KB Home’s President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said the home-building industry could continue to suffer or worsen in 2009. Still, he believes the company has the right business strategies and liquidity position to be able to weather the storm -- though a hand from the government wouldn’t be rejected.

“While we welcome appropriate federal stimulus to support the housing market, we are not counting on it or passively waiting for better times,” he said.

KB Home, which had delivered 23,743 homes at an average price of $236,400 in fiscal 2007, delivered only 12,438 homes in fiscal 2008 at an average price of $261,600.

The company ended the year with losses of $976.1 million, or $12.59 a share, from $929.4 million, or $12.04 per share, in 2007. Its full-year revenue fell 53% to $3.03 billion from $6.42 billion the year prior.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting losses of $9.47 a share on revenue of $2.9 billion.