Housebuilder voices concern over planning delays

The firm said the property market had shown an "encouraging level of stability" since April, but warned a shortage of land with planning consent and potential changes to planning policy could "artificially constrain" a recovery in industry volumes.

Taylor Wimpey is also "concerned" over the coalition's looming spending review which could see the axe fall on housing initiatives and social housing grants. In 2009, one-sixth of the firm's 10,189 legal completions were affordable housing.

The firm reported a slow improvement in mortgage availability and said UK property prices would be underpinned by an underlying shortage of new housing.

But it added: "With ongoing political and economic uncertainty, we continue to run the business on a cautious basis, with selective land investment and an ongoing focus on costs and cash."

In the UK, sales have picked up in recent weeks after a "slight softening" around the time of the general election, leaving sales rates broadly in line with last year.

The housebuilder has now sold 83 per cent of its full-year target and said its order book remained strong, although first-half completions will be slightly below 2009 at 4,650.

The firm has completed a number of land deals in recent weeks as sellers rush to beat Budget hikes in capital gains tax, but will remain cautious over land buying with lingering economic uncertainty.

In the US, house prices have remained "stable" so far this year although the company is braced for volatility in the months ahead after a key stimulus measure - the homebuyers' tax credit - ceased at the end of April. In Canada, the business expects the market "to remain robust for the foreseeable future".

Taylor Wimpey was created by a mega-merger between Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey in 2007 at the peak of the housing market, but the giant had to battle for survival last year as it risked sinking under the weight of its debts.

Its borrowings stood at more than 1.5 billion at the time of a crucial refinancing in April last year but the firm has slashed debt by 100 million to 650 million so far in 2010.