Housebuilders are anxiously waiting to see how next month鈥檚 sales pan out after fears that the sector is on the brink of a downturn.
Poor sales figures for September, traditionally seen as the month when the market picks up after the summer, could herald a market slowdown, particularly in London and the South-east.
Housebuilder Fairview, which operates in the South-east, warned of a perceptible slowing in sales at its interim results last week, but said it was not clear if this would affect prices.
Fairview finance director Richard Westcott said the firm was waiting until the autumn to see whether this was a definite trend. He said: 鈥淪eptember is when we are going to get a feel for which way it鈥檚 really going. The key is whether there will be latent demand out there. If there isn鈥檛, we鈥檙e in for a slog over the autumn. The jury鈥檚 out.鈥�
Fairview last month mothballed its plans for a management buyout until the autumn, blaming market conditions in London.
Westcott said: 鈥淲e are having to sell much harder. It鈥檚 not a question of just taking the money any more.鈥�
If it鈥檚 good in September, life returns a bit to normal. If not, alarm bells will ring
City Analyst
New figures released by two of the UK鈥檚 biggest mortgage lenders also point to a housing slowdown.
The Halifax found that UK property prices rose a modest 0.3% last month. The Nationwide 好色先生TV Society reported that prices had fallen 0.2% in July. Meanwhile, the Bank of England last week decided not to change interest rates.
One analyst agreed that next month would be a key barometer of how the market was performing. He said: 鈥淚f it鈥檚 good in September, life returns a bit to normal. If not, alarm bells will ring.
鈥淗ousebuilders that are exposed to London are going to be battening down the hatches if the figures are down. They will have to do nothing for half a year.鈥�
Fairview saw turnover increase 49% to 拢118.1m in the six months to 30 June. Pre-tax profit rose 38% to 拢31.7m. The firm sold 660 homes, compared with 711 in the same period last year.
