Bovis sees property sales boom on back of Help-to-Buy housing scheme
A boom in Britain’s property market and the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme have helped to boost house buying and have led Bovis Homes to report its best-ever first half sales.
The Kent-based housebuilder announced yesterday that it had completed 1,487 sales in the six months to the end of June, a massive 54 per cent increase on the same period last year.
Bovis, founded in founded in 1885 by general builder Charles William Bovis, has focused on more affluent regions in the south of England.
The average sale price on legal completions was up 11 per cent at £210,000 pounds, while the operating margin is expected to be at least 15 per cent, against 11.1 per cent last year.
At the current trends, Bovis expects to sell 3,297 homes in the full year, an increase of 44 per cent on 2013.
The bullish update follows similarly upbeat statements from rivals Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon as builders benefit from improving sentiment around the housing market and government measures to help people on to the property ladder.
“Bovis Homes has delivered its highest ever number of first-half legal completions, driven by the high-quality investments made during the past few years,” chief executive David Ritchie said.
“This is expected to lead to excellent first-half results with a material improvement on last year.”
Despite the bullish report, Bovis shares closed down 1.52 per cent at 778.5p.