Upmarket housebuilder Berkeley has said that the capital’s high-priced housing market continues to stall and has called on authorities to relax restrictions on the construction of new homes.
The London-focussed developer repeated a previous warning in June that its full-year profits were likely to be around a third lower from last year, but added it was on track to achieve its longer-term goal of producing at least £3.4bn of pre-tax profits by 2021.
In its latest update to the market, the group stated: “In essence, this is a market that lacks urgency and London remains constrained by high transaction costs, restrictive income multiple limits on mortgage borrowing and prevailing economic uncertainty, accentuated by Brexit. These headwinds affect all segments of the market from home movers to downsizers and investors alike. A functioning housing market, where good new development can deliver much needed additionality across all tenures, requires conditions for growth and low barriers to entry which are currently absent from the housing market in London and the South East.”
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