Housebuilders on slide

Two of Britain’s biggest house builders delivered a warning about the state of the market yesterday.

Crest Nicholson said it was hit by a combination of rising building costs, just as the price it gets for its homes has flattened.

That resulted in half-year profits falling 2% to £74.8million, even though its revenues rose by a healthy 13% to £473m.

Crest mainly focuses on southern England.

Chief executive Patrick Bergin said: “We have taken a number of actions to seek to offset build cost pressures and invest in areas of greater housing affordability.” The bleak update, and a warning about full-year profit margins, saw Crest’s share price dived 4% yesterday.

Meanwhile, rival Bellway said house prices “moderated”, with demand easing for its more expensive properties.

Overall, Bellway was more upbeat than Crest, saying it expected its house sales to top 10,000 for the first time in its history over the full year – up by around 600 on the previous 12 months.

However, this news couldn’t prevent Bellway’s share price falling more than 3% yesterday.