(Reuters) -UK homebuilder Taylor Wimpey on Wednesday flagged a softer sales rate in the nine weeks to September 28, as shaky consumer sentiment weighed on the UK housing market.
With high inflation and borrowing costs squeezing affordability among UK consumers, fears of potential hikes to stamp duty in the November budget have added to the risk of a deeper slump in new home sales, compounding challenges for home builders.
Rivals, including Britain’s largest homebuilder Barratt Redrow and Vistry, have warned that the economic uncertainties are likely to continue to weigh on demand.
In July, Taylor Wimpey reported a slump in first-half operating profit and cut its profit forecast, citing one-off charges related to remediation works and a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe.
On Wednesday, it reiterated expectations of UK home completions in a range of 10,400 to 10,800 for the full year, excluding joint ventures, with annual operating profit of about 424 million pounds ($570.70 million).
In the nine weeks to September 28, the net private sales rate was 0.65 per outlet per week, compared to 0.70 per week in the prior year, the company said.
Excluding JVs, its total order book value stood at 2.12 billion pounds, as at the week ended September 28, compared to 2.15 billion pounds last year.
($1 = 0.7429 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
