More interest hikes will further weaken housing market, says FTSE 250 builder

Signage at a housing development advertises the help-to-buy scheme, which Rishi Sunak’s government is thinking of reviving. Photograph: Julian Eales/Alamy

High interest rates and a withdrawal of government support for first-time buyers will further weaken the UK housing market, according to a UK FTSE 250 housebuilder.

Crest Nicholson, which last year built and sold more than 2,500 homes, said the government should step in to support the housing market as it was “undoubtedly experiencing softer demand than the previous year”, in a statement to the stock market on Thursday.