Taylor Wimpey sees trading in line with expectations

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey today said it had experienced a homebuyer slowdown, as a result of the Government’s spending cuts, which has deterred potential buyers.

Its comments echo those of Persimmon who yesterday said there was little evidence of the traditional autumn period which usually sees families flock to new housing developments as the school summer holidays end.

However, Taylor Wimpey, which is the UK’s second largest homebuilder by volume, said it expects annual profit at the higher end of estimates - boosted “stable” trading, and an agreement reached on a new £950 million credit facility.

The company which was formed by the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, said: “We expect to enter 2011 with a solid order book and we remain focused on our strategy of maximising margins and returns rather than looking to accelerate volume growth.”

Many housebuilders have expressed their concern that the ongoing lack of mortgage availability, particularly to first time buyers, continues to be a “major obstacle” and is holding back the recovery of the housing market.

In other news this week, property website, Rightmove, reported a major fall in asking prices in November – as vendors cut their prices amid desperation to sell their property before the Christmas slowdown.

According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales fell 3.2% in the month – the biggest drop since December 2007.

The property website also noted that there was an “unseasonably high number” of unsold properties on the market as buyer demand continues to weaken.

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