Housebuilder shares rise as Brexit fears look like a thing of the past
Rumours of housebuilders' demise are greatly exaggerated.
Builders were among the big winners on the FTSE 100 for the second day in a row this morning, after strong results from Persimmon yesterday suggested they are weathering the Brexit storm.
Persimmon was up 2.5 per cent at 1,918p in mid-morning trading, while Barratt was up 2.7 per cent at 499.3p.
Taylor Wimpey rose 2.1 per cent to 168.7p, while Berkeley Group rose 1.7 per cent to 2,6944.5p.
Housebuilders were among the biggest casualties of the Brexit vote – since 24 June, Berkeley Group, for example, has fallen almost 20 per cent, while at one point in the days after the EU referendum, Persimmon was down almost 40 per cent.
Mixed figures sentiment from the housing sector in the weeks since the vote haven't helped: figures from Halifax, for example, showed house prices actually fell between June and July – although separate figures from HM Revenue and Customs have suggested the number of transactions largely held up in July. Basically, no one can decide what the figures meant.
But yesterday's results from Persimmon, which suggested the revenues had increased 12 per cent to £1.5bn in the six months to the end of June, clearly cheered investors.
Analysts at Liberum said the company's resilience of trading since the beginning of July was "the key surprise".
"With cancellation rates actually declining, and sales rates and visitor numbers up strongly, Persimmon at least look to remain in rude health at present," added George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.