Bellway sees annual volumes up 25% as new home demand soars

Housebuilder Bellway on Friday said it expected annual volumes to rise by a quarter as the stamp duty holiday and government help drove higher demand for new homes.

The company said its forward order book was up 18.7% to £1.77bn in the 17 weeks to November 29.

It also warned that longer term risks remained as the government’s help-to-buy scheme and stamp duty freeze on March 31, together with the potential for ongoing economic uncertainty, both as a result of the disruption caused by Covid-19, together with the expiry of the Brexit transition period at the end of the month.

Housing completions for the full year to July 31, 2021, were now expected to increase by 25% from 7,522 completions recorded a year ago, Bellway said, adding that it now expected the number of homes sold for the half-year to January 31, to be similar to the 5,321 homes sold a year earlier.

The reservation rate slowed down in November as Britain went into a second lockdown due to a second wave of Covid-19.