Builder’s signs of homes hope
NORTH EAST-based housebuilder Barratt Developments today provided further evidence that the housing gloom is lifting.
In an interim statement, the company - which has Tees Valley developments including The Chase at Ingleby Barwick and Farriers Park in Stockton - reported rising reservations and visitor levels and a growing order book.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the UK housing market, Barratt said so far this year visitor levels per site were up 17% on the final six months of 2008.
Total net reservations averaged 243 per week over the last 19 weeks. This equates to 0.47 private sales per week per site but is up 4.4% on the same period last year and up 20.5% on the end of 2008.
The company’s forward order book currently stands at £778.2m, up from £455.8m on January 1 this year.
Despite the encouraging results, Barratt’s chief executive Mark Clare played down thoughts of a housing recovery.
He said: “Whilst there are early signs of stability, the housing market remains challenging and is constrained by a lack of mortgage finance on appropriate terms.”
Today’s comments from Barratt are in line with rival Redrow, which said yesterday that it planned to restart work on mothballed schemes.
Other recent data suggests the worst of the housing crisis could be over.
The region’s chartered surveyors are now reporting average sales of 12 transactions per month, up from 10 in March, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
