Bellway discounts fear of homes market slump

"The early warning systems of cutting prices to sell and of

cancellation rates rising, are not happening," chief financial officer Alistair Leitch said yesterday.

"The market has gone into its normal quieter period, we're not worried about it," he said.

Bellway reported a strong order book position which represents 50 per cent of next year's target but recent data have led to renewed worries about the housing sector, after house price growth stalled and low levels of mortgage approvals point to market weakness.

Robin Hardy an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, said: "No one knows whether this is a notch down or a return to something more like a traditional seasonal pattern. Therefore, everything hinges on the market momentum from the start of September."

Bellway played down the quiet period which it said was affected by factors such as the soccer World Cup as well as the good weather during which people were unlikely to be visiting showhomes.

The Newcastle-based company said in a trading update it completed the sale of 4,595 homes in the financial year to end-July, compared with 4,380 homes last year. The average selling price was 163,000.

Bellway is the UK's fifth-largest housebuilder by market value.