Crest Nicholson has seen a “resilient” housing market it said on Tuesday, alongside revealing full-year profits will come in ahead of expectations.
The housebuilder said it has continued to deliver a good trading performance in the current financial year.
The FTSE 250 firm, led by Peter Truscott, added that the market is set set to benefit from measures announced in the Budget earlier this month. That includes the extension of the stamp duty holiday and the introduction of government-backed 95% mortgages.
As at March 22, Crest Nicholson’s order book is over 70% covered for the financial year ending this October 31, up from 55% in January.
This includes sales that will legally complete after the end of Help to Buy phase 1 and the stamp duty holiday extension, “further highlighting customers' confidence in the market”, the firm added.
Crest Nicholson expects adjusted pretax profits for the full-year be around £85 million. Analysts had pencilled in £74.3 million.
The housing market was effectively shut down at the start of the lockdown as people were urged to avoid moving and a number of construction sites temporarily closed.
But restrictions for the sector were eased in May and last July a suspension of stamp duty on property sales of up to £500,000 until March 2021 was announced. The deadline has now been moved to June 30.
