Persimmon buoyed by ‘firm’ demand for housing

Housebuilder Persimmon today said its revenues during the first six months of the year soared by 33 per cent to £1.2 billion.

The group, which is due to report its first-half results on 19 August, also said average selling prices grew 4 per cent to about £186,000 and the value of its forward order book stood at about £1.18bn at the end of June, 28 per cent higher than a year ago.

It added: “Customer demand for good quality housing in attractive locations remains firm across all our regional markets.”

Amid concerns that the housing market is becoming over-heated, mortgage lenders are being required to check that home-buyers can afford a hike in interest rates and the Bank of England last week moved to limit the number of mortgages offering more than 4.5 times a borrower’s income.

Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “With accommodative monetary policy underpinning the housing market, interest rates unlikely to rise markedly for now, and the lending practices review leading to sustainable growth in the future, the company is in a sweet spot.”