Concerns around a cooling in Britain’s housing sector have begun to mount in recent months, with surveyors reporting lower new-buyer inquiries
U.K. homebuilder Vistry Group PLC has reported a better-than-expected rise in first-half income, but warned of ‘early signs’ that Britain’s housing market may be beginning to slow.
Total adjusted pre-tax profit grew to £189.9 million, a jump of 14.3 per cent compared to the same six-month period last year and ahead of company-provided estimates.
Strength at the firm’s partnerships unit – in which it works with housing associations to construct affordable homes – helped drive the uptick, with the division’s higher margin mixed tenure revenues increasing by 33.7 per cent.
Shares in Vistry traded in the green on Thursday.
But the group, which will become the U.K.’s third-biggest homebuilder once a merger with rival Countryside is completed, flagged that demand in the country’s land market is ‘settling’ after a period of heightened demand.
Concerns around a cooling in Britain’s housing sector have begun to mount in recent months, with surveyors reporting lower new-buyer inquiries.
Analysts at HSBC have also predicted a ‘significant fall’ in demand and prices for housing from the fourth quarter into 2023, citing a deteriorating macroeconomic outlook and a recent rise in mortgage rates to their highest level in six years.
Vistry chief executive officer Greg Fitzgerald said: Whilst mindful of the impact of wider economic uncertainties including rising energy costs, we continue to expect to see a significant step-up in profitability in both Housebuilding and Partnerships in FY 22, with adjusted Group profit before tax to be in-line with our previously upgraded expectations.
