Housebuilding giant, Persimmon, has reported a strong start to 2024 with an increase in sales and property prices.
The Charles Church developer noted a rise of 6% in private outlet sales for the first quarter and stated that average sale prices in the private market have surged by 6% to roughly £283,000 since the turn of the year. Moreover, the company announced its forward order book is up by 18% year-on-year in the first quarter, keeping it on par to complete somewhere between 10,000 and 10,500 homes for the full year.
However, to stimulate demand, it's still offering pricing incentives at approximately 4% to 5%. The housing market has endured torrid times with lending rates reaching their highest levels since 2008 amid economic uncertainty.
However, there's been some relief with mortgage rates easing back and the industry witnessing an improvement in trading conditions. Earlier this week, Taylor Wimpey also observed that the housing market was finding its feet again, despite a hindrance in its sales rate.
Regarding the upturn, Persimmon's group chief executive, Dean Finch, remarked that the company had experienced a "good start to the year'. He added: "We saw an improvement in sales rates alongside firm pricing. Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the remainder of the year."
However, Persimmon has issued a warning that the inflation in building costs and lower selling prices observed at the beginning of 2024 will affect the figures for the first half of the year. The current increase in demand is expected to be reflected in the trading for the second half of the year.