UPDATE 1-Lennar rides U.S. housing boom to post more than two-fold surge in profit

March 16 (Reuters) - Lennar Corp LEN.N on Tuesday posted a more than two-fold jump in quarterly profit as historically low mortgage rates and a COVID-19 pandemic-induced shift to suburban living encouraged more Americans to buy homes.

The housing market, one of the persistent bright spots throughout the pandemic-induced recession, however, faces prospects of a slowdown as mortgage rates rise on the back of a surge in U.S. Treasury yields.

Miami, Florida-based Lennar said orders -- an indicator of future sales -- rose to 15,570 homes in the first quarter from 12,376 homes, while the number of homes sold rose to 12,314 from 10,321.

Net earnings attributable to the company rose to $1 billion, or $3.20 per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, from $398.5 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $5.33 billion, from $4.51 billion a year earlier.

(Reporting by Shreyasee Raj in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)

((Shreyasee.Raj@thomsonreuters.com;))