Bovis says Brexit uncertainty has affected buyers

Housebuilder Bovis Homes has cautioned uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the European Union has put off discretionary homebuyers.

The group is the latest housebuilder to warn over the impact of Brexit worries after Taylor Wimpey earlier this week said it was seeing signs of customer caution, particularly in the south-east of England.

Bovis said while its sales rate had remained stable, “the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has impacted discretionary buyers”.

It comes after official figures on Wednesday also showed house prices in England are growing at a slower annual rate than the rest of the UK, while property values in London are continuing to decline.

Bovis’s sales rate per outlet a week for the year to date has remained steady at 0.51 since July 1, with pricing in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, the company welcomed the Government’s extension of the Help to Buy scheme for a further two years to March 2023.

It said the restrictions to the scheme from March 2021 are not unexpected, and it does not envisage any significant reduction in the use of the scheme for its new homes as a result.

Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said Bovis is fully sold for the year and the group continues to “target a record year of profits for 2018”.