Crest Nicholson upbeat as house price rises reach home counties
HOUSE prices in the home counties are starting to reflect the “ripple effect” from the sharp rise in London home values, Crest Nicholson said yesterday.
The housing developer said this growth in the average selling price, together with the government’s Help to Buy scheme and the overall improvement in the economy meant sales for new homes continued to be “buoyant” in the 18 weeks to 7 March.
It said forward sales for 2014 and beyond were up 50 per cent on the same period last year, totalling £330m.
Crest Nicholson said it had bought six sites for development so far this year, meaning it now had sufficient land to meet its forecast volumes for this year and next.
It also said it was “well positioned” going forward, noting the proposed extension of the Help to Buy scheme through to 2020 provided “additional certainty” for business planning.
“Against a backdrop of rising purchaser confidence, increases in mortgage approvals and generally improving economic conditions, the group is very well positioned to continue driving business performance,” it said yesterday in a trading statement.