Persimmon set to exceed homebuilding expectations

November 14, 2023 by Mark

House building

Building firm Persimmon has announced that it is expecting to complete more new homes by the end of the year than it had anticipated, even in the wake of a third quarter slump.

The company is one of the major UK construction firms and specialises in building houses. It has indicated that it is on course to surpass expectations in terms of the number built this year, despite completions suffering a drop of 37% over the last quarter. In total, Persimmon expects to finish roughly 9,500 homes by the close of 2023, while the expectation was initially set at 9,000 at the midway point of the year.

In the trading statement that the company issued for the third quarter, its group chief executive Dean Finch wrote that prices had stayed more or less even during that period, while trading had met expectations. He then added that the company was set to complete more homes than anticipated, while keeping both its operating margins and profits on course.

However, Persimmon is also indicating that it believes the UK property market will still be turbulent next year, due to ongoing high living costs and rates for mortgages. It feels that these will continue to make many people think that buying a home is beyond their financial capacity at the moment.

This view was supported by Charlie Huggins from Wealth Club, who said that market conditions were making potential buyers wary.

Mortgage advisors with the CeMAP qualification will welcome even a slight increase in homebuilding, due to the housing shortage.