Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.
Barratt Redrow trims new homes target, citing planning delays
Barratt Redrow has reduced its target for the number of homes it aims to complete over the next year, citing ongoing planning delays. The move comes despite a stronger year of completions and a significant rise in profits.
Completions up, target down
The housebuilder completed 17,667 new homes in the year to the end of June, a rise of 5% compared with the previous year. Pre-tax profits for the year just ended were up by around a third to £363.5m.
However, for the year ahead the company has lowered its completion target from 17,700–18,200 to 17,500–17,900. It attributed the reduction to planning delays and also to fewer sales outlets being opened.
Calls for government action
Chair Caroline Silver has renewed the company's calls for the government to do more to help the housing market. She said that while recent planning reforms should, in time, boost housing delivery, alone they will not be enough, and that the government must also take action to support demand, particularly for first-time buyers.
She argued that reducing barriers to home ownership and addressing the increasing regulatory and tax burdens constraining housebuilding viability across many parts of the country would be needed to unlock increased levels of housing delivery, including affordable housing, and to start to tackle the housing crisis, create jobs and drive economic growth.
What this means for the rental market
For letting agents and inventory clerks, the trimmed completion target suggests the supply of new-build homes may grow more slowly than previously planned. With fewer new homes coming forward, competition for available stock in some areas could remain tight, a factor to monitor when advising landlords on local market conditions.
Outlook
The company said performance in the year ahead will continue to be influenced by the broader macro-economic environment. It noted that higher mortgage rates and affordability pressures will continue to impact customer confidence, but that mortgage availability remains competitive and demand from committed home buyers remains resilient.
Source: Mortgage Strategy