UK housebuilders to shed light on property market amid Government targets
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Some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders will say whether demand is picking up in the property market after a prolonged slump, as the Government prepares to overhaul planning rules. London-listed construction groups Persimmon, Vistry and Taylor Wimpey will all provide trading updates next week.
Persimmon, which will give an update on its fourth-quarter trading on Tuesday, recently said buyer demand had picked since the first cut in interest rates in the summer. In November, the York-based homebuilder said it was on track to complete the sale of about 10,500 homes over 2024, which would be more than the 9,922 recorded in 2023.
Improved customer sentiment was fuelling demand for new homes, thanks to borrowing costs coming down leading to improved affordability among buyers, it said. Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown, said Persimmon has “faced its fair share of struggles over recent years”, with the volume of sales falling more sharply than the broader sector.
“But early signs of promise are emerging in some forward-looking metrics,” he said. “And while sales rates and price increases are modest, they’ve bucked the sector’s declining trend of late.”. Mr Chiekrie said investors will be looking for an update on build cost inflation, which has started to tick up again recently, putting more pressure on construction firms.
