Housebuilder Persimmon saw shares fall 8% in early trading after revealing tumbling buyer demand, rising cancellations and falling prices.
The York based business said economic gloom and soaring mortgage rates are impacting on the UK property market, with the average weekly sales rate per outlet in the private market falling to 0.6 between July 1 and November 7, down from 0.78 a year earlier. The figure fell further to 0.48 in the most recent six weeks.
Customer cancellations have also increased to 28% in the past six weeks, from 21% in the previous three months. Bosses said the tougher selling conditions saw prices drop by around 2% in the six weeks to November 7, when market turmoil was sparked by the so called mini-budget as well as unprecedented political upheaval.
