Housebuilder Redrow has announced that it will complete fewer home sales between July and December this year, just a day after rival Bovis issued a similar warning.
Redrow, which specializes in low-cost housing, completed 2,214 sales in the last six months of 2006, but expects this year’s figure to be around 10% lower. It commented that potential buyers were sitting on the sidelines, reluctant to commit to new property thanks to worries about further interest rate rises and the economic uncertainty caused by the credit crunch.
The group’s market capitalization has fallen by around 40% since May leading analyst Keith Bowman, of Hargreaves Lansdown, to observe that the combination of a falling share price and an attractive landbank could leave it vulnerable to a bid.