Rocky Trading for Homebuilders in U.K. After Home Price News Hits
April 16, 2008
London–U.K. homebuilder stocks dropped after the London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported Tuesday that March home price declines rose their highest levels in 30 years, the Times Online reports.Persimmon fell 2.5 percent to 65; Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Barratt Developments and Bovis Homes all declined more than 3 percent.A separate survey this week found retail…
London–U.K. homebuilder stocks dropped after the London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported Tuesday that March home price declines rose their highest levels in 30 years, the Times Online reports.Persimmon fell 2.5 percent to 65; Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Barratt Developments and Bovis Homes all declined more than 3 percent.A separate survey this week found retail sales had dropped for the first time in two years in March in the U.K., with big ticket items particularly affected. Home Retail Group–which owns Argos and Homebase–dropped 3.3 percent.The housing market decline may also damage banks in the U.K. because many of their assets are mortgage related, according to Morgan Stanley.
