Persimmon’s sales improve in Q1

Persimmon saw an improvement in sales rates during its first quarter, it said today (April 25).

Issuing a trading update for the period from January 1 to March 31 2024, the housebuilder reiterated that it was set to deliver completions growth in the range of 10,000 to 10,500 for its full year, against the 9,922 of 2023.

As with fellow volume housebuilder Taylor Wimpey who updated on Tuesday, Persimmon has seen encouraging levels of visitors to its sites so far this year. During Q1, its net private sales rate per outlet rose 6% on Q1 2023. Excluding bulk sales, this dipped to 0.61.

The firm said it had traded in line with expectations, completing 1,027 homes, down slightly on Q1 2023’s 1,136.

“Customer interest remains good, and our marketing campaigns continue to generate healthy traffic to sites and online, despite ongoing affordability constraints,” Persimmon commented.

Its private forward sales position during the period increased to £1.14 billion from Q1 2023’s £0.97 billion. Since the start of the calendar year, the company’s private average selling price has risen 6% to £283,000.

Persimmon opened 28 gross outlets in the first quarter, ending the period with 263 outlets. …