Springfield’s private reservations rise

Springfield Properties has seen its private housing reservation rates improve in the first half of its financial year, with buyer confidence returning.

Giving an update on trading for the six months to November 30 2024, the Scottish private and affordable housebuilder said it had achieved more private housing reservations in the period than in H1 2024.

The company pointed to the Scottish Budget’s affordable housing allocation of £768 million for 2025/26, which, it said, should allow affordable housing providers to go ahead with contracts. This follows “some hesitancy among affordable housing providers to commence new projects due to uncertainty around availability of public funding,” causing some of Springfield’s affordable housing projects in its pipeline to be delayed.

Springfield also anticipates further growth in the affordable housing sector as the Scottish government’s allocation is “substantially higher” than in the current year.

The housebuilder also remains confident in meeting its market expectations for its full year, noting its landbank – one of the largest in Scotland, with a large proportion of sites already having planning. “The group continues to consider opportunities for profitable land sales of sites that do not impact its near-term development pipeline,” it said.

Innes Smith, …