(Adds Redrow results, background)
Feb 9 (Reuters) - UK homebuilders Bellway and
Redrow on Thursday flagged persistent market challenges
despite a slight pickup in activity in recent weeks, as a surge
in loan costs and broader inflationary pressures drive buyers
away.
Rising interest rates and an ill-fated mini-budget in
September have pushed the British housing sector into a marked
slowdown amid uncertainties over the wider economy.
Bellway, which constructs everything from one-bedroom
apartments to six-bedroom family homes and luxury penthouses,
said it would build fewer homes this fiscal year than the last,
despite a record output in the first half to Jan. 31.
The company's half-year bookings rate fell 31.7%, while the
current order book declined about one-third to 1.39 billion
pounds ($1.68 billion).
Redrow, meanwhile, withdrew its outlook for the next fiscal
year, citing recent changes in market conditions, after posting
a 2% decline in profit for the six months to Jan. 1, 2023.
Both the FTSE MidCap firms echoed larger rival
Barratt , which on Wednesday highlighted a modest
improvement in market activity in the new calendar year.
($1 = 0.8265 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
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