Government stimulus boosts reservations at housebuilder Crest Nicholson

17th Sep 2013 07:07

Crest Nicholson, the house builder which made its debut on the stock market back in February, continues to feel the effects of the government's stimulus measures as it gave a confident outlook for the future.The firm said that market conditions have been improving since the start of 2013 as the 'Funding for Lending' scheme fed through into lower mortgage rates and 'Help to Buy' enabled more people to get a foot on the property ladder."Our excellent reservation performance in the period underpins the board's confidence that the business is likely to experience good trading conditions for the next few years, supported in part by government efforts to stimulate the housing market," the company said.Open-market reservation rates since May 1st (start of the third quarter) have been 0.95 per outlet week, up 46% on the 0.65 rate the year before and 23% higher than the 0.77 rate in the first half. It said that the benefits of increased reservation rates mainly won't be felt until next year onwards, though forward sales for 2014 and beyond currently total £145m, up 92% year-on-year.However, the company did warn of an increase in costs of certain building materials and some delays to delivery due to the higher levels of reservations which have "brought some initial pressures to bear on elements of our supply chain". These pressures are expected to abate over the rest of the financial year (ending October 31st)."The increased volume of reservations confirms the strong desire for home ownership that exists in this country and it is good to see that aspiration becoming a reality for many," said Chief Executive Stephen Stone.