Bovis concerned about UK housing market
Bovis, one of the UK's leading house builders, has today gone public with a number of concerns regarding the short to medium term future of the UK property market. While the company reported a return to profitability, with £3.5 million surplus for the first six months of 2010, and an increase in both house prices and housing sales, there was much mention of the government's spending cuts and tax rises.
The company has seen a 3% increase in the number of sales in the first half of 2010, compared to the same period last year, as well as a 3% increase in house prices. Unfortunately, the company also reported a significant shift in sentiment in the sector after the election and the June emergency budget. This concern appears to be growing as the prospect of a potential double dip recession, however small, continues to catch the eye of financial observers. It will be interesting to see how the UK property market performs in the latter part of 2010 with many suggesting that despite a fairly buoyant first half, the sector could well be flat for the full year.
This is the first real negative comments on the UK property sector for some weeks now although in all honesty it was not totally unexpected.
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