York-based Persimmon says housebuyer demand remains “healthy” despite stamp duty holiday ending

The Charles Church group said it has taken the changes to the stamp duty and Help to Buy scheme “in its stride”, with private new home sales reservations around 16% higher than 2019 levels between July 1 and November 8.

It added it expects to grow completions by about 10% this year, while it also has forward sales of around £1.15 billion beyond 2021.

Persimmon said it continues to “manage the current industry supply chain difficulties well”, with its profit margins offsetting a 5% hike in build costs as a result of the disruption.

In a separate update on Tuesday, rival Vistry said it was seeing some signs of improvement in the supply chain.

But Vistry – formerly Bovis Homes – sees build costs rising by around 4% to 5% over the next 12 months as labour shortages are set to continue even as materials pressure reduces.

Dean Finch, group chief executive of Persimmon, said: “Persimmon continued to perform well through the period against a backdrop of healthy demand, with private sales reservation rates per site remaining well ahead of 2019, as sales followed a more normal seasonal pattern as expected when compared to 2020.”

He added: “Healthy selling prices and our off-site manufacturing capabilities are mitigating inflationary pressures, to support our industry-leading margins.”