NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ryland Group Inc (RYL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 8 U.S. home builder, said on Wednesday its quarterly loss widened, citing fewer sales, lower margins and higher selling and other costs.

Ryland posted a first-quarter net loss of $29.3 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with a loss of $24.4 million million, or 58 cents per share.

Ryland's quarterly results include charges for write-offs for inventory and property values of $27.4 million.

Home-building revenue for the Calabasas, California-based home builder fell 42.2 percent to $399.6 million, as sale closings fell 33 percent to 1,543 homes and the average selling price fell nearly 14 percent to $257,000.

Consolidated revenue fell 41.5 percent to $416.2. Gross profit margins were 11.9 percent before the charges compared with 18.7 percent in the same period a year earlier.

Lower revenue and greater marketing cost pushed selling, general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of home- building revenue, to 16 percent for the first quarter of 2008, compared with 13.9 percent for the same period in 2007.

In response to the deteriorating market, U.S. home builders have shifted their focus from profit and growth to survival, focusing on generating cash to pay off debt and getting rid of the excessive land and inventory they accumulated during the boom times.

Ryland ended the quarter with a cash balance of $213.3 million.

New orders during the quarter fell 27.8 percent to 2,159 and their value fell 39.7 percent to $526.4 million.