British house builder Berkeley Group Holdings has today reaffirmed its 2023 outlook despite a property-sector slowdown.
The FTSE 100 developer, which caters to a high-end market, said housing sales since the end of September had been around 25% lower than the first five months of the financial year.
“This is a resilient performance in the context of the market volatility since the end of September and reflects the underlying demand for quality homes in London and the South East,” the company said in a statement.
Britain’s property sector has cooled in recent months, hurt by a dent in demand for new homes that has impacted sales and building targets.
UK house prices have fallen from the highs hit following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases has slipped to the lowest level since 2009.
However some recent indicators pointed to a slight uptick in the sector.
Data from Halifax earlier this week showing an unexpected jump in prices last month, potentially reflecting improvements in mortgage rates and consumer confidence.
Berkeley maintained its profit forecast of about £600m for the full year to April 30. It expects pre-tax earnings of at least £1.05 billion for 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.