Homebuilder PulteGroup Inc's

quarterly pretax loss narrowed and it said the U.S. housing market is showing signs of stability.

The No. 2 U.S. homebuilder posted a net loss of $165.4 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a loss last year of $116.9 million, or 31 cents per share.

However, the loss before income taxes shrank to $190.5 million from a loss $917.2 million last year.

After four years of steep declines, the U.S. housing market continues to show signs of stabilizing, albeit at historically low levels, PulteGroup Chief Executive Richard Dugas Jr said in a statement.

Businesses are once again adding jobs, which directly stimulates buying and, in turn, consumer confidence, both of which are critical to ultimately raising demand for new homes. In fact, we may already be realizing some positive effects as January buyer traffic and sales trends were encouraging, he added.

Total revenue slumped 31.5 percent to $1.19 billion, while revenue from homebuilding fell 31 percent to $1.16 billion.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Derek Caney)