Housebuilders on slide

TWO of Britain’s biggest housebuilders yesterday warned about the state of the market.

Crest Nicholson said they were hit by a combination of rising building costs, just as the price they get for homes has flattened.

That resulted in half-year profits falling two per cent to £74.8million, even though revenues rose by a healthy 13 per cent to £473million.

Crest mainly focus 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 dive four per cent yesterday.

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

Overall, Bellway were more upbeat than Crest, saying they expected house sales to top 10,000 for the first time in their history over the full year – up by around 600 on the previous 12 months. However, this news couldn’t prevent their share price falling more than three per cent yesterday.