Another day another positive note for the UK property sector
Yesterday's news from Bovis Homes was well received by the UK stock market amid signs that the UK housing sector is starting to stabilise. However, while many analysts were upbeat about the sector as a whole there were a number who were cautious about calling the bottom although after the results from Persimmon, one of the more prominent UK housebuilders, perhaps everybody will feel a little more comfortable that sector has bottomed out?
While pre-tax profits of £9.8 million in the first half of the year do not compare favourably against last year's figure of £36.9 million it was a surprise write back of recent write-offs which caught the market by surprise. During 2008 the company reduced the value of its land on the balance sheet by a staggering £650 million and a further £121.4 million earlier this year. However, today the company "wrote back" a whopping £149.3 million believing that the market has bottomed and land has held its value better than many people had expected.
Persimmon was actually the first of the main UK housebuilders to suggest that the sector had bottomed out although at the time many people were cautious regarding this statement and unwilling to "bet their house" on the forecast.
Share this..
Related stories
Retail sales inch forward
Sales on Britain's high streets rose between during the last month, official figures show, but at a slower rate than anticipated.Between February and March the total value of retail sales went up by 0.3 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today.But despite the slower than expected increase, analysts predict that the Bank of England will not be deterred from raising interest rat...
Read MoreAnother day another economic forum
The World Economic Forum in Davos has received many column inches in the press but what exactly will we learn and what have we learnt so far?
The initial comments coming from the forum appear to be a repeat of those official statements made by the likes of Gordon Brown and other world leaders who are tackling serious economic unrest in their own country. Gordon Brown is also risking...
Car manufacturers introduce price hikes after rescue package
It has been revealed that Vauxhall and Ford are looking to increase the price of their new cars by as much as 5% after confirmation of the UK government's £2.3 billion liquidity package. Even though the £1.3 billion coming from the EU has yet to be cleared it appears as though UK car manufacturers have taken this opportunity to increase prices even though business levels have fallen to record lo...
Read MoreWhy did the government take away the state pension link to earnings?
The last few days have seen mention of the centenary of the UK state pension and a suggestion that the link to average earnings should be reinstated. While this would make great sense, and assist the growing number of elderly in the UK, many people are starting to wonder about the reasons for taking away the link in the first place. On the surface there appeared no reason not to increase the state...
Read MoreNorwich City council pledges action after homes scandal
Norwich City council, a Labour controlled council, has today confirmed it will "make good the damage" caused after revelations that elderly tenants were evicted from their properties in order to accommodate senior council staff. It appears a number of senior citizens were evicted from their prime low rent homes only to be replaced by senior Norwich City council officials who were able to enjoy ver...
Read More