Shares in struggling homebuilder Ryland Group Inc. dropped early Thursday after the company reported a quarterly loss that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Ryland posted a loss for the second quarter of $242 million (-$5.70 per share), greater than the loss of $52.4 million (-$1.25) in the same period a year earlier. The loss was seven times higher than the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

The Calabasas-based homebuilder reported $180 million of writedowns of land and property options and also had a $124 million tax-related expense.

Overall revenue fell 34 percent to $488 million. Home-building revenue for Ryland fell 35 percent to $472 million as closings dropped 26 percent and the average selling price declined 13 percent to $254,000. Orders for new homes dipped 19 percent to 2,045 during the quarter.