House sales at Redrow slump

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by Kay Murchie

Housebuilder Redrow has been hit hard by the housing downturn after it reported that house sales halved and revenues fell.

The company said that in the second half of 2008, the number of completed house sales was 1,042, compared with 2,111 during the same period in 2007.

Meanwhile, during the latter half of 2008, sales reservations were down 49% compared with the same period in 2007 to just 853 across the UK. This was in spite of the average selling price falling from £162,700 in the first half of 2008 to £140,500 in the latter half of 2008.

This had an impact on revenues which fell by 58% to £149.5 million over the six months to the end of December, resulting in a £46.2 million loss compared with a £35.8 million profit in 2007.

The housebuilder said it plans to eliminate a further 90 jobs as a result of falling sales amid the housing market downturn. During the 2008 year, headcount was reduced by 43% to 740 employees.

The news comes as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) today revealed a slight rise in January mortgage approvals.

According to the BBA, a total of 23,376 mortgages were approved in January - the highest level for four months and up from the 22,416 approved in December.

However, the figure is 43% lower when compared with January 2008.