Ryland Group Inc. said Tuesday that its lenders reduced its unsecured revolving credit line from $550 million to $200 million. They also raised the interest rates they were charging the Calabasas-based homebuilder in exchange for easier terms.

Calabasas-based Ryland, whose revenues have been hurt by the downturn in the residential home market, said in a regulatory filing that its interest rate increased to a range of 1.75 percentage points to 2.75 percentage points above the agreed-upon base rate. That compares to a previous range of 1.12 percentage points to 2 percentage points

The amended credit agreement eased terms of the loan by lowering the minimum amount of tangible net worth Ryland must maintain from $600 million to $300 million. The 19 banks, which include Washington Mutual, Bank of America and City National Bank, also allowed Ryland to hold debt of as much as 55 percent of debt plus net worth, instead of reducing it to 52.5 percent in the second quarter and to 50 percent in 2010 as formerly required.

The amendment also limits dividends that Ryland, the nation’s 11th largest homebuilder, can pay to common shareholders. Ryland last month cut its quarterly dividend from 12 cents to 3 cents a share.

The federal government last week said U.S. housing prices declined 8 percent in November, the largest drop since those records began being kept in 1991. In response, Ryland and other area homebuilders have retrenched by cutting jobs, closing offices and slashing prices to unload inventory.

Ryland shares closed down $1.33, or 8 percent, to $15.57 on the New York Stock Exchange.