Taylor Wimpey Plc is the latest homebuilder to warn about Britain’s housing market as higher mortgage rates weigh on demand.
(Bloomberg) — Taylor Wimpey Plc is the latest homebuilder to warn about Britain’s housing market as higher mortgage rates weigh on demand.
The homebuilder said it expects to sell between 9,000 and 10,500 homes this year, according to a statement Thursday. That compares with 13,773 home completions in the UK in 2022.
“The weaker economic backdrop continues to impact the near-term outlook,” Chief Executive Officer Jennie Daly said in the statement. “Affordability concerns weigh, particularly for first time buyers.”
Persimmon Plc issued a similar report on Wednesday, warning that it was likely to sell no more than 9,000 homes this year, compared with almost 15,000 in 2022. The company said the end of the Help-to-Buy program was impacting demand from first-time buyers facing affordability issues.
Taylor Wimpey said its weekly private net sales rate increased to 0.62 in the first two months of the year, compared with 0.48 in the second half of 2022. Still, that’s significantly below the same period a year earlier, when the rate was 1.02.
Britain’s homebuilders have displayed some optimism about the nation’s housing market in recent weeks. Barratt Developments Plc noted an uptick in January home sales, which stood in contrast with a flood of earlier warnings about the risk of a slowdown.
“Whilst it is still early in the year, trading has shown some signs of improvement,” Taylor Wimpey’s Daly said. “Customer interest in our homes remains good.”
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