Barratt said the sales performance across all regions in the new financial year to date has been encouraging.
As at August 23, forward sales at Barratt stood at 15,660 homes with a value of £3.7 billion, compared to 13,064 homes at £3 billion a year earlier.
In the year to June it grappled with Covid-19 disruption and its pre-tax profits drop 45.9% to £491.8 million.
Barratt’s chairman John Allan sounded some caution: “There has been a reduction in the high loan-to-value lending that many people require to get onto the housing ladder. This has arisen post Covid-19 and reflects a response to a perceived increase in risk and high levels of demand.”
The current Help to Buy model is also set to be replaced in April 2021 with a two-year scaled back version that could impact buyers.
Allan said: “ It is important that lenders and the Government consider what further options are available to help potential first time buyers who want to purchase their own home.2
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club said the current pick-up in activity reported by Nationwide “will prove unsustainable due to challenging fundamentals for consumers”.
Archer said: “Many people have already lost their jobs, despite the supportive Government measures, while others will be concerned that they may still end up losing their job once the furlough scheme ends. Additionally, many incomes have been affected.”
