Agency franchise brand Winkworth is sticking to its market expectations for this year as it claims the mini-Budget is yet to have had a negative impact on its trading.
A third quarter trading update issued yesterday by Winkworth highlighted a “sharp increase” in year-on-year sales due to a backlog of transactions and increased levels of interest.
It said: “Trading in the third quarter of the financial year was good, with a sharp increase in sales year-on-year due in part to an overhang of uncompleted transactions from the second quarter, but also as levels of interest remained strong.
“Lettings showed good growth, held back only by a shortage of available properties, particularly in London.”
It comes as a lack of detail on how tax cuts and other measures in Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget will be funded has hit the value of the pound, while high inflation and rising interest rates and mortgage pricing have prompted fears of a property market crash.
Winkworth’s update suggested there was no sign of this yet, adding: “We have not as yet witnessed a negative impact from the mini-Budget on applications and sales and, although higher mortgage rates are likely to put a cap on further price appreciation, we anticipate that an increased supply of properties and persistent strong demand will support transactions for the rest of the current year.”
The company also announced a dividend of 2.7p per ordinary share for the third quarter of 2022.
Winkworth’s directors expect that full year pre-tax profits will be at least in line with the market forecast of £2.1m, the announcement said.
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2022/10/winkworth-the-mini-budget-hasnt-hit-property-sales-yet
