Housebuilder Bellway has reported an increase in housing sales demand in their most recent trading update.
Supported by favourable market conditions such as availability of mortgages and the ongoing Help to Buy scheme, customer demand has remained steady across all regions during the past 4 months. This is despite the anticipated uncertainty during the run-up to last week’s snap general election.
The housebuilder reported that over the period from 1 February 2017 to 4 June, the reservation rate grew by 13% to 221 per week. This is in comparison to 196 reservations per week during the same period last year.
Ted Ayres, Chief Executive of Bellway shared his thoughts on the figures as well as the factors which drove the demand.
“Robust market conditions, together with a clear operational focus, is enabling Bellway to continue increasing its contribution to the supply of much needed new homes. We have made a significant investment in land and work in progress over a number of years and this, together with a strong balance sheet and substantial operational capacity for expansion, should ensure that Bellway is well positioned to deliver further volume growth, this year and beyond.”
In the update, Bellway also mentioned that despite the stable demand, a degree of instability still exists in regard to housing policy, especially in terms of property supply. In light of this and upcoming Brexit negotiations, they aim to continue their volume growth strategy.
