Vistry sees open market sales improvement

Vistry Group has reported an improvement in its open market sales rate over the past eight weeks, expecting “this trend to continue”, while partner transactions have remained “relatively low”.

Issuing a trading update covering the period from January 1 2025 to date, the housebuilder said the improvement in private sales in the past two months was thanks to better mortgage availability and affordability, with borrowing rates reducing in anticipation of further expected interest rate cuts.

Vistry expects open market volumes for its full year to be similar to FY24. It said the increase in its open market sales rate was offsetting its reduction in sales outlets as it worked through sites in its former Housebuilding division. In FY24, Vistry’s open market completions totalled 4,592 homes, down 15% on 2023.

Since March, when it reported its full year results, Vistry’s sales rate to date has notably lifted from 0.59 – which reflected a “low volume” of partner funded transactions in the first quarter - to 0.91, similar to the 0.94 achieved during the equivalent period last year.

In the past eight weeks, its sales rate has averaged 1.32 against 2024’s 1.17.

Meanwhile, “as expected”, Vistry’s partner funded transaction …