Bovis struggles to entice buyers...

11 March 2009

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1 Comments

Written by Rosalind Renshaw

Housebuilder Bovis recorded a £78.7m loss last year despite reducing its workforce from 1,039 to 441.

The group sold just 1,817 homes in 2008 compared with 2,930 in 2007 and built only 1,782 new units after planning to build 3,500. It also saw its revenues drop by 49%. The average price of a Bovis home fell by £29,000.

Chief executive David Ritchie said: “2008 has been an unprecedented year. Declining mortgage finance availability and poor economic conditions, allied with low consumer confidence, brought about the toughest trading environment for many years.”

This year has, if anything, started even more badly for Bovis: by March 6 it had only 772 reservations on homes compared with 1,262 at the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the National Housing Federation has this week forecast that the number of new homes that will be built during the next financial year could fall to 70,000 – the lowest figure since 1921 apart from the war years.

Comments

- Dan
What the hell do you morons expect?
A small 2 bed bungalow on my street, is presently priced at £240k. It was sold for £78k in 2000!!!!
[Even if you halved the present price, it would still be MASSIVELY overpriced]
NO FTB's WILL GO NEAR PROPERTY UNTIL THEY RETURN TO 2000 PRICES.
- 11 March 2009 18:01 PM