The past week has provided some early insights into demand trends at the start of the autumn selling season. Bellway and Barratt both highlighted continuing softness in reservation rates post the summer holidays, perhaps with some tentative signs of improvement in recent weeks. Vistry, similarly, has not seen the normal seasonal pickup in private sales activity since early September as the business implements a strategic shift towards its partnerships model. Springfield Properties meanwhile announced a land sale at the start of last week, delivering on its strategy to prioritise cash generation at a time of market uncertainty.
Forecast guidance for most of the sector is already prudently pointing to no meaningful near-term increase in activity and companies continue to manage overheads and land investment cautiously. Whilst share prices continue to be driven by macroeconomic considerations, particularly the outlook for inflation and interest rates, we remain confident in the fundamentals of the housing market and see good value in the sector on a medium-term view.
