British house builders upbeat after record year

At the end of 2015, house builders were upbeat following the news that the sector was one of the fastest rising in the UK. House prices rose 13.4% over the year, reaching an average price of £231,857, according to Haart.

Chief Executive of Haart Paul Smith believes this is down to a surge in registrations from buy-to-let investors who wanted to move quickly ahead of stamp duty rising on 1 April.

Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were both posting gains on the FTSE and this month Taylor Wimpey released a trading statement showing that house completions had risen by 7% for the company and average prices for private completions rose 9% from 234,000 to 254,000.

Chief Executive of Taylor Wimpey Pete Redfern said: “We have delivered a strong trading performance in 2015 in a positive housing market.

“We are building more homes than at any point in the last six years and delivering a record operating profit margin of over 20%.

“We are confident that the principles we are operating to will deliver long-term sustainable value across the housing cycle.

“We remain focused on working with communities and our customers, suppliers and employees to drive continual improvement in the quality and consistency of our operational business.”

Chancellor George Osborne boosted the industry in the Autumn Statement by committing to the construction of 400,000 new homes in England before 2020. While there is still the worry about the skills shortage and the workers available to help build these homes, things are looking up for the UK house building industry.