The number of homes built by developer Persimmon crashed to the lowest level for more than a decade last year as high interest rates affected the market.
The FTSE 250 housebuilder, which is one of the largest in the country, completed just 9,922 new homes in 2023.
That was down 33 per cent – or nearly 5,000 – from 2022 and the lowest figure since 2012.
Mortgage costs rocketed last year after the Bank of England raised interest rates to a 15-year high of 5.25 per cent, which put off potential buyers.
However, Persimmon sold 422 more homes than expected after previously forecasting just 9,500 completions.
Slowdown: Persimmon, one of the largest housebuilders in the country, completed just 9,922 new homes in 2023. That was down 33% – or nearly 5,000 – from 2022
The company said there was a strong improvement in demand in the final three months of the year as borrowing costs stopped rising.
But the outlook for 2024 remained difficult to predict.
Bank of England officials held rates at 5.25 per cent in the final three meetings of last year after 14 consecutive hikes and are expected to start cutting rates this year, with mortgage costs falling in anticipation.
Lenders began 2024 with a rate-cutting war, as banks such as HSBC, NatWest, First Direct, TSB and Lloyds slashed mortgage costs.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: ‘Mortgage rates are likely to ease further this year, driving buyers back to the housing market as affordability pressures come down.’
The developer’s key sales rate improved to 0.41 per outlet per week in the fourth quarter, compared to 0.28 in the previous year.
The average selling price of a Persimmon property was £255,750, up 3 per cent compared to £248,626 in 2022.
It warned that market conditions ‘will remain highly uncertain during 2024, particularly for first-time buyers’.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
