Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home reported a second quarter loss Friday that was more than three times greater than analysts expected, sending shares down nearly 7 percent.

The second-quarter net loss, KB’s fifth consecutive quarterly loss, was $256 million (-$3.30 per share). Wall Street was expecting a loss of 94 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll. A year ago, KB posted a second quarter loss of $149 million (-$1.93).

Revenue plunged to $639 million from $1.41 billion in the same period a year earlier thanks in large part to lower housing and land sale revenues. Analysts were expecting sales of $691 million.

“Housing market conditions remain difficult for the homebuilding industry, with inventories of unsold homes expanding as foreclosures rise to record highs, and consumer confidence continuing to deteriorate amid signs of weakness in the general economy,” KB’s Chief Executive Jeff Mezger said in a statement.

The average sales price for a KB home also fell 17 percent to $226,600 during the quarter while orders for new homes fell 42 percent to 4,200 homes and the number of homes delivered plunged 41 percent to 2,810 during the quarter.

KB Home recorded a total of $300 million in expenses, including $177 million to write down the value of land and joint ventures and to walk away from options on land it doesn’t plan to buy. The total also included a $99 million tax-related charge.

KB’s backlog, which is made up of homes under contract to be built but not yet sold, fell 61 percent when compared to the same period a year earlier to $1.47 billion.

Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of new, single-family homes dropped 2.5 percent in May, while sales of previously owned homes, which make up the vast majority of homes for sale, nudged up 2 percent.

Shares in KB dropped 6.8 percent to $16.89 in early trading Friday.