Latest news with #completions
Forbes
12-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bellway Shares Nudge Higher As FY Completions Top Estimates
Shares in Bellway edged higher on Tuesday after the housebuilder announced forecast-beating completions for last year. At £24.72 per share, the company – which is the UK's fifth-largest home creator by volume – was last 1.4% higher. The FTSE 250 builder said revenues rose 17% in the 12 months to July, to £2.76 billion. Housing completions increased 14.3% to 8,749 homes, while average selling prices improved to £316,000 from £307,909. Both completions and asking prices came in slightly ahead of forecasts. Bellway said that 'customer demand was supported by good availability of mortgage finance and relative stability in mortgage interest rates during the year and overall, headline pricing and the level of targeted incentives have remained stable across our regions.' Weekly private reservations per outlet rose to 0.57 from 0.51. Excluding bulk sales, the rate crept up to 0.52 from 0.49 previously. However, the builder noted that 'a solid period of demand through the spring was followed by softer trading in the final quarter.' Bellway's operating margin rose by a percentage point over the year, to 11%. It said 'build cost inflation was in the low single digits throughout the year,' adding that 'there are presently good levels of building materials and subcontractor availability across the group.' 9,200 Completions Targeted Improving private reservations over the year meant Bellway's forward order book comprised 5,307 homes as of 31 July. This was up from 5,144 at the same point in 2024. Meanwhile, the value of its order book swelled to £1.5 billion from £1.4 billion in financial 2024. Supported by land bank improvements, its outlet opening programme and that rising order book, Bellway said it expects completions to increase to 9,200 this year. The company contracted to purchase 8,120 plots last year at a value of £567 million. This was up from 4,621 and £345 million respectively in the prior year. Bellway finished financial 2025 with net cash of £42 million, swinging from net debt of £10.5 million. This was in line with expectations. 'Solid Performance' Chief executive Jason Honeyman said 'Bellway has delivered a solid performance despite ongoing headwinds for our industry. There was good growth in volume output and an improvement in underlying margin which are set to drive a strong increase in profits for [the last financial year].' He added that 'we have entered the new financial year with a healthy forward order book and outlet opening programme and, if market conditions remain stable, we are well-positioned to deliver further growth in [financial 2026].' 'Promising' Outlook Analyst Dan Lane of Robinhood UK commented that 'Bellway has built on its June outlook, with completions and average selling prices slightly pipping expectations. The picture looks more promising too, with an improving operating margin, better cash position and strong dividend cover.' He added that 'a healthy order book shows buyer confidence is clearly starting to seep back into the market and last week's rate cut won't do any harm there. Bellway needs this trend to pick up and, with a goal of producing 9,200 homes, if it does it should start to feel the benefit sooner rather than later.'
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NAHB: Multifamily completions hit 38-year high
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Multifamily completions reached 608,000 units in 2024, the highest level since 1986, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis of the Census Bureau's Survey of Construction. Fifty-four percent of those completions were high-density buildings comprising 50 or more units. This is the eighth consecutive year those structures claimed the most multifamily openings, according to the NAHB. Ninety-five percent of completions were rental buildings, and 55% of those were high-density projects. In 2004, only 25% of those were larger buildings. Deliveries for buildings with 10 to 19 units decreased from 24% in 2004 to 4% in 2024. Dive Insight: The number of completed multifamily units built-for-sale rose to 29,000 in 2024 — a 9,000 increase from 2023. Forty percent of those units were high density, up from 28% in 2023. The South led the way in completions, with 292,000, accounting for 48% of the total in 2024. The West at 163,000, or 27%, was next. The Midwest, at 14% with 87,000, and the Northeast, at 11% with 68,000, followed. 'Completions in the South were weighted toward low-medium density buildings — a reverse on the overall trend — while high-density buildings in the Midwest and the Northeast were nearly double the amount of low-medium density completions,' the NAHB analysis said. For apartment operators in the South, these completions have hindered rent growth and led to concessions, particularly in hotspots like Austin, Texas. Austin has stood out nationally for its apartment supply, with 23,000 units delivered between the city and nearby Round Rock, Texas, over the past two years, according to data from Yardi Matrix. In that time, rents have dropped by more than $200. However, the situation is beginning to improve in Austin and other high-supply markets, according to Yardi Matrix's latest National Multifamily Report. Western and Sun Belt metros with historically high deliveries and declining rents — including Denver, San Francisco, Dallas and Austin — saw positive growth in May. In Austin, which experienced a 9.1% increase in supply this year, rents rose by 0.2% in May, or $3. As rents show signs of growth, these new completions could also present discount buying opportunities for apartment investors. 'You're starting to see [distressed buying opportunities] in the greater Phoenix metro in Arizona,' Jim Brooks, president of Los Angeles-based real estate investor BH Properties, told Multifamily Dive. 'You're starting to see a little bit of that in Austin — markets where you had this huge supply.' Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Barratt Redrow Shares Dive 9% On Profit Warning, Completions Miss
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Barratt Redrow shares sank sharply on Tuesday morning, after the FTSE 100 company warned that legacy issues would hit profits and announced lower-than-expected completions for the last financ At 377.4p per share, Barratt was the UK's worst-performing blue chip share and down 9.4% on the day. The builder said it expected to book 'additional legacy property liabilities' of £248 million following its acquisition of Redrow last year. Some £98 million of these liabilities relate to fire safety and issues with reinforced concrete frames that materialised during the second half, it said. Stripping out these adjustments, the company predicted adjusted pre-tax profit would meet market expectations. It achieved cost synergies of £69 million from the Redrow tie-up. It has targeted total savings of £100 million. Completions Drop Barratt said total home completions came in at 16,565 during the 52 weeks to 29 June. This was down from 17,972 in the prior financial year, and below a forecast 16,800-17,200. This included 538 joint venture completions, roughly in line with financial 2024 but below a targeted 600. Barratt said that its completions miss was chiefly down to fewer international and investor completions in London. For the current financial year, Barratt predicted total completions of between 17,200 and 17,800, including 600 completions from its joint ventures. The company maintained its medium-term target of 22,000 completions per year. The housebuilder finished financial 2026 with net cash of £772 million, down from £868.5 million in the prior period but above expectations. The business also announced plans to repurchase up to £100 million of its shares by the end of the current financial year. Positive Outlook Chief executive David Thomas commented that 'against a challenging market backdrop, we have delivered a solid performance this year. Our adjusted profits are in line with market expectations, despite home completions being slightly below our guided range.' He said that 'although demand during the year has been impacted by consumer caution and mortgage rates not falling as quickly as hoped, there remains a long-term structural under-supply of housing in this country.' Thomas added that 'our increased scale, three market-leading brands and strong land pipeline put us in a unique position to rapidly accelerate volume delivery as consumer confidence strengthens and the benefits of planning reform materialise at a local level.' Mixed Reception Analyst Aarin Chiekrie of Hargreaves Lansdown commented that 'Barratt Redrow's been ticking along nicely over the last year, despite some hurdles such as increased stamp duty and slow changes to increasing planning approvals.' He added that 'sales rates are moving in the right direction and the integration of the Barratt and Redrow businesses has continued at pace,' despite home completions missing expectations. Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro, said Barratt's share price fall shows that 'even well-built businesses can struggle when the ground beneath the sector begins to crack.' He said that 'despite government assurances, planning reform remains sticky, while build costs are still elevated, and demand is softening as high interest rates and fiscal drag weigh on affordability.' Royston Wild owns shares in Barratt Redrow
