Property sales in the UK are showing signs of slowing as the impact of government tax repayments begins to wear off, according to one of the UK’s leading house builders.
Persimmon said on Wednesday that its weekly sales had settled to a “more normal level than the high seen over the summer months”.
The company, like other homebuilders, had seen an earlier rise in sales behind stamp duty holidays and the spread of pent-up demand after restrictions on the housing market lifted in May.
The increased demand meant Persimmon had a retail sales line of £ 1.7bn at 31 December, up 25 per cent on the same point a year earlier. The group generated 2020 revenue of £ 3.33bn, up from £ 3.65bn a year earlier.
But a resurgence in coronavirus cases and changes to the government’s Help to Buy scheme, which will limit regional price quotas and ban the scheme to first-time buyers, have delayed trade. The end of the stamp duty holiday in March is likely to have an impact, the company said.
“Recent events have highlighted the near-term uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dean Finch, the company’s chief executive. “However, we believe the long-term foundations of the UK housing market are stable.”