D.R. Horton results indicate firming housing recovery

* Third-quarter profit nearly doubles

* Orders jump 22 pct to 10,398 homes

* Shares rise as much as 4.3 pct (Adds background, updates shares)

By Ankit Ajmera

July 28 (Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc's quarterly profit handily beat estimates and the No.1 U.S. homebuilder said orders rose 22 percent, indicating that a recovery in the housing market was gaining steam.

Orders, an indicator of future revenue, rose across regions, including those from south central states. Though the company did not break down numbers for housing hotbed Texas separately, it said the state accounted for most of the sales in the region.

Smaller homebuilders such as PulteGroup Inc and Lennar Corp have reported a fall in order from Texas, which is heavily dependent on the energy sector and has been hurt by falling oil prices.

The U.S. housing market, which is being supported by a tightening labor market, has seen increased demand from young adults.

Government efforts to ease lending conditions for first-time buyers, who currently account for about 30 percent of U.S. home sales, and interest rates at historic lows have also helped.

Shares of D.R. Horton rose as much as 4.3 percent to $27.89 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

D.R. Horton, which mainly caters to first-time buyers, launched its Express communities in 2014 for people with primary focus on affordability.

Sales from the business accounted for less than 5 percent in 2014, but are expected to contribute up to 30 percent in the "foreseeable future."

The company's net income nearly doubled to $221.4 million, or 60 cents per share, in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Home sales revenue rose about 37 percent to $2.86 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 50 cents per share on revenue $2.70 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

D.R. Horton's average selling price rose 6.5 percent to $289,966, according to Reuters calculations.

Up to Monday's close of $26.74 on the New York Exchange, the stock had risen about 6 percent this year, while the Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction index increased about 7 percent.

(Editing by Maju Samuel)