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.
Share this..
Related stories
Is the property sector turning?
News that a consortium of Indian and Gulf investors may well be looking at a takeover of British Land has prompted many analysts and investors to revisit the property sector. While the reports are as yet unconfirmed, the sharp spike in the British Land share price over the last two days would indicate that potentially there could be something on the cards.
The consortium is said to...
Buyers vs. Sellers – the House Price War
There is set to be something of a standoff over the coming months, as buyers and sellers of houses within the UK lock horns over prices. There is a difference of opinion as to the price of housing from either side, with both seeking to gain as much as possible in the tough economy. This is not good news for the UK housing market, and is likely to further stall sales of houses in the future, ac...
Read MoreHouse Prices Down One Percent In June
It has been reported that the average house price fell by 1% during June, reducing the impact of May's steady month and the fact that some were hoping that the trend would continue. Housing specialist Hometrack has released a report today which also suggests that the average house sale will now take around 10 weeks to compete, leaving many sellers at the mercy of the markets and buyers, who are i...
Read MoreThe hidden heartache of repossession
Despite the fact that the Council of Mortgage Lenders last week reduced its forecast of the number of homes to be repossessed in the UK, we may well be missing the point. It was revealed that 9800 homes were repossessed in the first quarter of 2010 and this figure fell to 9400 in the second quarter with an estimate that "just" 39,000 homes would be repossessed this year as opposed to initial forec...
Read MoreWhy are house buyers still sitting on the sidelines?
Over the last few months we have seen a major deterioration in the UK property market with prices falling month by month and many desperate sellers willing to knock thousands off their asking price. However, surprisingly we have seen very few bargain hunters step forward which is something of a major concern for those in the sector.
There appear to be a number of reasons for the ina...