UK housebuilder reports fall in sales

British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey today reported a fall in house sales but said there were signs that the mortgage drought may be easing.

Taylor said the number of homes sold in the first half of 2011 declined by 5% to 4,550 as it focused on maximising the value of each sale.

This policy helped the company's average selling price increase by £2,000 (€2,213) to £170,000 (€188,103) and caused a strong improvement in profit margins. Chief executive Pete Redfern described the performance as very pleasing.

While there were "ongoing signs of incremental improvements" in mortgage lending, levels are still "very restricted", the company said.

Taylor has helped 1,200 first-time buyers get on the property ladder through the Government's FirstBuy scheme, which sees the housebuilder and the state stump up the deposit between them.

The scheme was launched because lenders have demanded bigger deposits, which is making it harder for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder.

The group expects the housing market to remain stable for the rest of 2011 despite the economic uncertainty, adding that it was still on track to achieve double-digit operating margins in the UK in 2012. Taylor said it is continuing to buy land when it finds good deals.

It also said it is close to completing the sale of its North American arm - which includes Taylor Morrison, the ninth largest homebuilder in the US, and its Canadian business Monarch Homes - to private equity firm TMM for $955m (€657.7m).

The group said it has approved the purchase of 5,257 new plots on 55 sites this year and has entered into a partnership with UK Coal which has the potential to deliver up to 4,000 homes.

Shares were up 4% today. William Jones, an analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, said he was reassured by the first-half performance and the company's belief it can continue to grow its profit margin.