News

Barratt sees 20% increase in new homes built - January 15
Barratt built almost 20% more homes in the second half of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012.

In all the Group completed 6,195 homes in the six months to December 31 2013, 19.3% up on the year before. Of these, 5,202 were private completions, 22.7% higher than 2012.

In a positive trading statement to the City today, Barratt said that the Help to Buy scheme continues to have a positive impact on the market with 29% of completions using the scheme.

All regions are reporting higher average sales rates and private reservations increased by 36.7% in the period. Sales prices are increasing due to the improving market and change in mix - ASP on private sales is expected to increase 11.4% to £225,000.

"As a result of the continued recovery in the housing market across all regions and our £3.1 billion investment in new land over the last four years, we have been able to increase the number of new homes being built and our profitability," said Barratt chief executive Mark Clare. "Our disciplined approach to running the business is delivering further significant improvements across all key financial metrics and with forward sales of over £1.2 billion, we are well placed for FY14 and beyond."

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Strong year end performances for UK housebuilders - January 9
Housebuilders Persimmon and Galliford Try have continued their strong performances into the end of 2013.

Issuing an update ahead of its results for the year ending December 31 2013, Persimmon said that it had "substantially" increased construction rates across the country in response to improvements in its weekly sales rate.

The company saw an increase in new home legal completions of 30% to 6,506 over the second half of the year compared to the first half. Over the year, the volume of its new house sales rose 16% to 11,528 against 2012. Total forward sales at the end of 2013 were up 41% in value to £908 million.

Persimmon said that its revenue growth and expected further improvement in operating margins would mean "strong" growth in its underlying pre-tax profit for the full year.

Galliford Try's housebuilding arm experienced a 20% increase in total sales to £652 million over the six months to December 31 2013 compared to 2012. Its average selling price climbed 16% to £288,000, "reflecting the strong demand for our well located sites and increased focus on houses," GT's statement read. It is expecting a "record" half year profit.

"Housing market conditions have continued to improve and we are delighted to have secured a 16% increase in the landbank during the period, with the land market remaining positive," said GT's ceo Greg Fitzgerald.

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

UK house prices rise 1.4% in December - Nationwide - January 6
UK house prices rose 1.4% in December, according to the Nationwide house price index.

The rise compares to a 0.7% increase seen in November. Nationwide said that average house prices across the country climbed 8.4% in the year to December 2013.

In 2013, house prices rose from 0.4% in the first half of the year to 1% in the second half. But Nationwide said that prices were still around 5% below their 2007 peak.

Nationwide's figures also showed that all 13 UK regions experienced annual house price growth in 2013, but to differing degrees. Prices in London rose 14.9% over the year to December 2013, whilst northern England saw growth of 1.9%. Price growth across other regions varied from 3.7% to 8.6%.

Looking ahead, Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said: "Affordability is being supported by the ultra-low level of interest rates. However, the risk is that if demand continues to run ahead of supply in the quarters ahead, affordability may become stretched."

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Persimmon remains strong into Autumn - November 6
Persimmon has continued its strong performance into the second half of the year, with its weekly private sales rate 45% ahead of 2012 since July 1 2013.

Giving an update to the City covering July 1 to November 5 2013, the housebuilder said that its visitor levels were a 20% improvement on the equivalent period last year. It has £650 million forward sales reserved beyond 2013, representing a 41% increase on last year.

Persimmon has opened 65 of its 85 new sites earmarked for the second half of the year. It expects its national network of 385 sites to rise "towards" 400 outlets by the end of the year.

The response to the government's Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme had so far been "muted," Persimmon said. But it added: "We anticipate sales supported by these guaranteed mortgages will increase as interest rates begin to reduce with more lenders entering the market over coming weeks and months."

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Housing policies are working, says new housing minister - October 8
More than 15,000 reservations have been made under the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, the new housing minister Kris Hopkins said today (October 8).

Visiting a new housing scheme in Northampton with prime minister David Cameron, the newly appointed minister said that the loan initiative was increasing housebuilding rates and helping people buy homes.

"With over 15,000 reservations for new build homes in six months, it's clear the first part of our Help to Buy scheme has captured the imagination of the public and is boosting the supply of new homes across the country," he said.

"Our policies on housing are working: housebuilding is growing at its fastest rate for ten years, and the tough decisions we’ve taken to tackle the deficit are now delivering real help to hardworking people."

He added that the mortgage guarantee part of Help to Buy, launched today, "will strengthen the package of measures that have already done so much to restore confidence in the housing market".

DCLG added that 334,000 new homes were built over the past three years, the highest level since 2008

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Sales soar at Bovis Homes - July 2013
Bovis Homes has seen a 40% year on year increase in private reservations in the first six months of 2013, with private sales per site per week in the past three months up 60% on last year .

"The group has performed well in the first half of 2013 with a significant further improvement in housing profit, delivered from the ongoing execution of the group's growth strategy," said Bovis ceo David Ritchie. "Continuing its success in the land market, the group has added 2,767 new consented plots to the land bank."

For the six months to June 30 2013, the group legally completed 963 homes, up from 944 last year, with the average sales price increasing 15% to £188,500.

The firm says that subject to stable market conditions continuing, sales rates are expected to support the delivery of the group's volume growth targets for 2013.

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Bovis enjoys sales surge – May 2013
Bovis Homes has seen its private net reservations rise 26% year-on-year to 989 over the 19 weeks to May 10 2013.

The housebuilder said that the increase had been fuelled by an 11% rise in the average number of active sales outlets to 91, and its average private sales rate rising 14% to 0.57 net reservations per site per week. In the year to date, the number of visitors to Bovis' sites has climbed 29% against the same period in 2013.

As of May 10 2013, the housebuilder held 1,238 private sales for 2013 legal completion against 2012's 1,013.

Bovis said that the first few weeks of the government’s Help to Buy initiative had been "encouraging", lifting visitor numbers. It added that it was "well positioned to exploit the growth opportunities" of the initiative.

David Ritchie, Bovis' ceo, said: "The increased number of active sales outlets in excellent locations, delivered from the group's assertive land buying over the last few years, provides a great opportunity to take advantage of the improving market backdrop and further strengthen shareholder returns."

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

Barratt's pre-tax profit soars 113% – Feb 2013
Barratt’s pre-tax profit has soared 113% to £46 million, with its private forward sales rising 34% to £897.7 million, the volume housebuilder announced on February 27. During the half year to December 31 2012, Barratt ‘s private completions rose 5.3% on the previous year to 4,241 units. Its private average selling price increased 1% from £199,900 in 2011 to £201,900 as a result of a “small positive change in mix.”

The group averaged 186 net private reservations per week, slightly up on 2011’s 181. Barratt said that its sales performance had been “strong” over the first eight weeks of 2013. Its average net private reservations per active site per week climbed 4.9% against the equivalent period in 2012 to 0.64.

Barratt’s chief executive Mark Clare said: “This has been a good first half performance. Our order book of more than £1.1 billion reflects the strong customer interest we have seen in the early weeks of the year, supported by both NewBuy and better lending conditions. “We're continuing to invest in new land to drive the future performance of the business and we expect a further significant improvement in profitability in this financial year."

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

---

Profit up 50% at Redrow – Feb 2013
Redrow has “performed strongly in a challenging market”, with its private reservations up 24% to 1,140 homes in the six months to December 2012 against the same period in 2011. The housebuilder’s pre-tax profit increased 50% to £23 million. Its revenues climbed 10% to £257 million as a result of a 10% rise in the firm’s private average selling price to £224,000. Redrow’s average number of outlets increased to 83 from 72 the previous year. The company this number to reach 90 by the end of June 2013. The firm’s popular New Heritage Collection represented 87% of its private turnover, up from 60% at the end of 2011.
Redrow has made a promising start to 2013, with private net reservations in the first eight weeks up 8% to 443 against the start of 2012. “Given the strong pipeline of new sites and the modest improvement in market conditions, I am cautiously optimistic that Redrow’s strong recovery is set to continue,” said chairman Steve Morgan

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

---

RICS predicts start of housing market recovery – Jan 2013
The UK housing market may be “over the very worst” of the downturn, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said today as its data showed that house sales are set to rise in 2013. RICS’ market survey revealed that in December 2012, 24% more chartered surveyors predicted transactions to rise instead of fall over the first quarter of 2013. House prices stabilised in December – this is the first time since June 2010 that there has not been a negative national price balance, RICS noted, predicting that house prices would rise 2% in 2013. Respondents to the survey also did not give a negative price outlook for the first quarter. In December, the number of homes coming onto the market remained “relatively stable” with the survey showing that 12% more respondents saw an increase in new buyer enquiries rather than a decrease. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK house prices rose 2.1% in the 12 months to November 2012, with house price growth remaining “subdued” across most of the country.

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

---

Industry News : Barratt sees strongest Spring for five years – May 2012
Barratt has experienced its strongest Spring selling season in five years, it announced today (May 10).

The volume housebuilder achieved 248 average weekly net private reservations over the period January 1 to May 6 2012, up 25.3% against the same period in 2011. Barratt said that the rise was driven by higher sales rates per site and increased site numbers.

Over the period, Barratt’s private average selling price climbed 5% to £202,000 as a result of “continuing positive changes in mix.” Private forward sales increased 20.9%, with the value of these increasing 16.1% to £827.9 million.
Barratt said that it anticipated agreeing terms on around 10,000 plots of higher margin land in the full financial year.

Group chief executive Mark Clare said that the firm was ahead of meeting its goals of improving profitability and reducing net debt.   “Whilst the economic outlook remains uncertain and the availability of mortgage finance continues to be a constraint, we expect the benefits of the various government initiatives to continue to provide support to the industry,” Barratt’s statement read.

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

---

Industry News: Bovis visitor numbers double – May 2012
Bovis Homes’ visitor numbers have more than doubled in the past year, it said today (May 16).

Over the period of January 1 to May 16 2012, the housebulder’s private net reservations rose 33% to 783, driven by the average number of active sales outlets increasing 23% to 82.

Bovis began the year with 230 forward sold private reservations. As of May 11, it held 1,013 private reservations for legal completion this year, against 2011’s 790. Sales prices achieved on reservations to date had been “modestly above management’s expectations,” with the homes mix improving and a concentration on the south.

The housebuilder said that it had been “highly active” in the land market, currently having legal agreements in place to acquire 1,774 housing plots on 14 sites.

“Market conditions remain stable in the UK housing market,” Bovis’ statement read. “Based on these conditions continuing, the ongoing delivery of the Group’s growth strategy is expected to generate strongly improved returns.”

Source:  www.house-builder.co.uk

---

Industry News: Profits up for UK House-builders - March 2012
Following the positive interim results published by many of the UK’s leading house-builders towards the end of 2011, we are delighted that these have now firmed up with strong year end results being announced.  This good news has been further reinforced by a +6.8% increase in the number of units sold in the South East in Q4 2011 (44,103 compared to 41,296 in Q4 2010) traditionally the slowest quarter of the year.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/regions/html/region9.stm

Persimmon, Redrow and Bovis Homes all saw an increase in revenues for the second half of 2011 with the housing market over the year exceeding expectations.  Persimmon has announced strong full year results, seeing an “encouraging” start to 2012.  For the year ending 31 December 2011, pre-tax profit grew 55%, from £95.5 million in 2010 to £148.1 million. Its operating margin increased from 8.2% to 10%.  They also announced a programme to return £1.9 billion of surplus cash via dividends to shareholders (£6.20 per share) over 9.5 years, beginning in 2013. The news triggered an 18% rise in Persimmon’s shares.

Meanwhile, Bovis announced a 74% jump in pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 December 2011, Redrow has seen its pre-tax profit soar by 80% to £15.3 million and with Taylor Wimpey also set to announce strong results, the property market is looking in good shape for the year to come. 
(Source: www.house-builder.co.uk) 

James Turner, Land Director at PM Asset Management, commented that the announcement of strong results by the major UK house-builders, coupled with the Governments’ determination to see a growth in the production of new houses, has seen a steadying of the sector which he feels will benefit projects within the Sycamore Funds as they progress.

---

Strong Interim Results for UK House Builders - January 2012
Despite fears that a continued fall in house prices would have a detrimental effect on the property market in the South East, many of the leading UK house-builders have posted strong interim results for the 6 months ending 31 December 2010.
Shares in Barratt rose 6% following an upbeat interim announcement and the company said it had entered the second half of 2011 with a much stronger order book.  In the six months to 31 December, revenues rose 8% to £950m.  Similarly, Persimmon estimated pre-tax profits up 50% on the previous year with industry analysts estimating profits increasing from £130m to £148m.

Taylor Wimpey announced in November that it aimed to improve operating profit margins to 10% by 2012.  At the end of 2011, they had a total order book value of £835m, up 17% on 2010.  Taylor Wimpey will announce its full-year results for the year to December 31 2011 on February 29.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty

Coupled with the above, there has been further good news for the property sector with an increase of +6.8% in the number of units sold across the region in Q4 2011 compared to same period in 2010.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/regions/html/region9.stm

---

Localism Bill gains Royal Assent - December 2011
The Localism Bill which was introduced to Parliament on 13 December 2010, was given Royal Assent on 15 November 2011, becoming an Act.  Click here take a look at the overall effect of the Act.

---

Risk or Opportunity: Generation locked out of property market in South East- December 2011
The National Housing Federation warned in December 2011 that ‘an entire generation’ of people is becoming locked out of the property market in the South East of England. 

The Federation’s Warren Finney said: 'The South East has become unaffordable for ordinary hardworking people who have no realistic chance of buying their own house, triggering even greater demand for good social housing or a desperate search for a home in the more expensive private rented sector.'
Source:http://www.housing.org.uk/our_regions/south_east_region/south_east_news/home_truths_2011_south_east.aspx

So what does this mean for PM Asset Management?  With more people having no option other than looking towards affordable housing, demand for social housing across the South East is growing.  As such, there are now many more opportunities for us to work alongside Registered Social Landlords to provide this much needed housing.

---

Sycamore V First Close – Officially Launched  - May 2011
We are delighted to announce that the Sycamore V Property Development Fund has reached its first £1m and is therefore fully launched. We are currently in the process of signing our first two projects for the Fund and as soon as the contracts have been finalised details will be posted on the website.

---

Is localism the answer to the lack of rural housing? – April 2011
With all the doom and gloom surrounding the lack of funding for property development, you would be forgiven for thinking that the banks are on the forefront of every developers mind and, more to the point, what is the government going to do about it?!... Click here to read Sarah’s full blog.

---

PM Asset Management Newsletter - Winter 2010

Please click here to download the newsletter.

---

PM Asset Management Newsletter - May 2010

Please click here to download the newsletter.

---