While business for the UK’s housebuilders may be strong, with Berkeley Group this week saying strong sales and prices were helping it offset rising costs and Vistry feeling confident enough to table a £1.2bn bid for Countryside, a look at their annual share performance tells a different story.
The listed sector is down by more than 40% this year, writes the FT, after slumping in August. They recovered slightly on speculation of new prime minister Liz Truss’s energy price support package, but continued concerns over the government’s attitude to boosting housing supply could keep shares on shaky ground.
However, on Tuesday the housebuilders were the star performers on the stock market.
By close of play, the four listed on the FTSE 100 had collectively added almost £600m to their market value, with Berkeley leading the way.
It was up by 3.7% to £35.73, with Barratt Developments up by 3.3%, Taylor Wimpey up by 3.9% and Persimmon up by 3.1%.
Barratt and Vistry will both report results later today, so share prices could rally again.
