Taylor Wimpey sees hope building in housing market

September 02, 2009

"House construction firm Taylor Wimpey has announced it feels optimistic about the UK housing market, BBC News has reported.

The property company has said there are “signs that the situation is beginning to improve” in the housing market. In light of its recent months’ trading, Taylor Wimpey has stated it feels optimistic about the UK property market seeming to steady and that a more “severe” economic decline is now unlikely to happen.

House costs have levelled off, Taylor Wimpey said. The really good news for the firm though, is that its property build orders have increased by 73 per cent to £971 million since the start of 2009. It has also seen a decline in house build cancellations in the last few months.

Taylor Wimpey said: “Whilst wider economic conditions remain weak and rising unemployment could still have an effect on our markets, the severe downside scenarios for which we have been planning now appear less likely.”

The house building firm Taylor Wimpey was created in 2007, after the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey. The company made a pre-tax loss for 2008 of £1.97 billion, although this was largely the result of a £1.9 billion write-down in the firm’s land values and the worth of its other assets.

The company’s optimism in the property market comes amidst other signs of buoyancy. Both Halifax and Nationwide have reported a rise of 2.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, in May in UK house prices.