British high-end homebuilder Berkeley has today joined its sector peers in underscoring the difficult trading conditions in the housing market, as high mortgage costs and weak macroeconomic backdrop continue to drive buyers away.
Britain's housing market has battled a pronounced slowdown for most of this year as expensive home loans and broader economic woes weigh on affordability, forcing builders to warn on profit and cut down on home-build targets.
"We anticipate the sales market will remain subdued before inflecting in its normal cyclical manner once there is greater confidence in a downward trajectory for interest rates and economic stability returns," CEO Rob Perrins said.
Berkeley forecast pre-tax profit of at least £1.5 billion over three years up to fiscal year 2026. Earlier, it had forecast a profit of £1.05 billion for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Berkeley, which unlike its bigger rivals focuses on redeveloping land that was previously used for industrial purposes, said private bookings for the first-half period was around one-third lower than the levels secured throughout the 2023 financial year.
The FTSE 100 builder posted an about 5% rise in pre-tax profit at £298m for the six-month period ended October 31.
