Bovis has reported that demand for its properties has all but dried up and that average sale prices are stagnating. The Times. Daily Telegraph. The Independent. The Guardian. Financial Times

Malcolm Harris, Bovis Homes chief executive, said the group had seen a 20% reduction in both visitor and sales rates in the six months to the end of June. The east Midlands was bearing the brunt of the slump.

Bovis said its ability to grow profits over the full year was dependent on the key summer and autumn selling period.

Harris said five successive rises in interest rates and the end of two-year discount mortgage deals had taken the steam out of demand among homebuyers.

‘We are not finding that price is the issue; it’s about confidence. There is now much more caution with consumers and site visitors,’ Harris said. ‘The next two or three months are going to be quite critical to the level of expansion we can achieve over last year’s sales.’