Bellway warns of slump in demand for new homes

Bellway has cautioned that it will sell far fewer homes over the next year in response to a slump in demand for its new-build houses over summer.

In its financial year just gone, which ended in July, the developer sold 10,945 homes. It expects completions over the coming 12 months to “decrease materially”.

Analysts expect Bellway’s sales to drop by at least a quarter, to about 8,200, as high mortgage rates depress what would-be buyers can afford as well as their appetite to move.

Even to shift that many over the next year, Bellway conceded that it would likely have to trim its prices, putting more pressure on its profit margins. The company did not disclose what it thought its profits would fall to in

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