Partial recovery comes after £3bn was wiped off value of UK housebuilding sector yesterday

Shares in listed housebuilding firms have stabilised this morning after being hit by the global collapse in prices yesterday prompted by fears over the impact of the coronavirus Covid-19.

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Shares in the three biggest builders by volume – Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon – all rose by between 2 and 4% in early trading, following falls of as much as 8% yesterday.

The declines seen by the major housebuilders saw around £3bn wiped off the value of the UK’s major housebuilders. They closely matched the wider falls in the market, with the FTSE down by 7.4% yesterday, and recovering by 3% this morning.

Stock markets across the world fell yesterday, with many recording their largest single days’ fall since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Fears over the impact of Covid-19 were compounded by a spat between Saudi Arabia and Russia which saw the price of oil collapse by as much as a third.

Other listed housebuilders including Vistry, Redrow, Bellway, Countryside and Crest Nicholson all recorded falls broadly in line with the overall drop in the FTSE Index. Berkeley Group fared slightly better, recording a fall of just 6%, albeit its recovery today has been more modest.