Persimmon has posted higher profits
(Picture: Persimmon)Persimmon has revealed forward sales 9% stronger than before the pandemic, as the housing market boom shows no sign of tailing off after stamp duty relief got less generous.
As well as strong demand, chief executive Dean Finch said the housebuilder had so far been successful in maintaining “industry leading returns” in the face of cost inflation expected to be between 4.5% and 5% this year.
The update came as Persimmon reported a big jump in half-year profits to £480.1 million, although comparisons are skewed by last year's pandemic disruption.
The FTSE 100 company highlighted that its average private sales rate is 20% better than in 2019, with forward sales including completions in July and August up 9% on 2019 at £2.23 billion.
June was the last month buyers could enjoy a suspension of stamp duty on property sales of up to £500,000. From July 1 to September 30 no stamp duty is payable on homes up to £250,000.
Persimmon demonstrated its market optimism with the addition of another 10,272 plots across 48 locations during the half year.
It also plans to open 85 new outlets by the end of the year and is targeting a similar number for the first half of 2022.
