Completions in the six months to December 2017 were marginally ahead at housebuilder Barratt Developments (BDEV). Active sites were up from 374 to 376, while net private reservations were unchanged at 0.68 per site per week.
Trading in the second half is expected to see continued demand, with forward plots sold up 3.8 per cent at 10,921, with a value of £2.38bn. The housebuilder has also been more active on the land purchase front, buying 13,263 plots compared with just 5,262 a year earlier. All purchases exceeded the group’s minimum hurdle rates of 20 per cent gross margin and 25 per cent return on equity. Consequently, net cash at the half-year was down from £196.7m a year earlier to around £165m.
A total of 93 new developments were launched, up from 83 a year earlier, while total average selling prices rose by 6.5 per cent to around £281,000, with private average selling prices up 5.9 per cent at £314,000.
