The loss of $1.70 a share exceeded the average forecast loss of $1.01 expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Ryland released the results after the close of regular trading; company shares fell 4 cents, to close at $20.48. Shares are down 29 percent from a high of $29 on Sept. 19, 2008. Orders for homes in the second quarter were down 16 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, to 1,716 units. The Calabasas, Calif., company's executives declined to comment, saying they would do so in a conference call with analysts Thursday. Ryland builds homes in 16 states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, the states experiencing the most foreclosures and the sharpest home-price declines in the housing downturn. A massive glut of new homes remains unsold nationwide, though falling prices and tax credits are driving sales up. New home sales rose 11 percent in June over May, the Census Bureau reported Monday. But the rise in new home sales was still offset by the vast supply of unsold homes. June new home sales were the lowest for the month since 1982, and the current pace of sales could make 2009 the worst year for new home sales since the Census Bureau began tracking the data in 1963. The new homes that sold in June had sat vacant following construction for a median period of one year, the Census Bureau reported. An index of home sales prices in 20 U.S. cities was down 17 percent for May compared to a year earlier. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, released Tuesday, increased by less than 1 percent over its April level but was still in negative territory when seasonally adjusted. 