Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is seeing no sign of a slowing housing market in the run-up to the general election as boss Peter Redfern welcomed the political appetite to build more houses.
The UK’s second-biggest housebuilder’s chief said: “You would have expected in an election year to see some impact on consumer confidence but there has been none.
“The underlying demand for housing is strong, based on wages going up, low real interest rates and people’s confidence in their employment.”
Redfern said all the major political parties were positive about the sector and wanted to see it build more houses.
“The underlying economic drivers of housebuilding remain strong,” Redfern said.
Taylor Wimpey has built around 2500 affordable homes in the past 10 years, roughly 20% of its total completions.
It said the spring selling season had started strongly as the total order book climbed 12% on last year to £1.9 billion.
Average selling prices of Taylor Wimpey’s homes has increased by 14% last April to approximately £282,900, helped by a greater number of London properties in the mix. The company’s first-quarter statement came on the day of its annual meeting.
