But housebuilder still expecting operating profit of around £420m for the year as previously forecast.
Taylor Wimpey’s sales rate has dipped in the second half of the year, which it says reflects uncertainty ahead of the Budget on 26 November.
The housebuilder, in an unaudited trading update today, said its net private sales rate per outlet per week was 0.63 from 30 June to 9 November, down from 0.71 in the same period last year.
“Reflecting current uncertainty in the housing market ahead of the November Budget, we continue to experience softer market conditions in the second half of the year to date”, it said.
Despite this, Taylor Wimpey said it still expects its full year operating profit including joint ventures to be around £424m, as previously forecast.
It also said its forecast for completions of between 10,400 and 10,800 homes remains unchanged.
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The housebuilder said it welcoms the government’s planning reforms and said it is seeing “better engagement with local authorities and have experienced some recent planning successes.”
It said it expects “further improvements as policy is implemented by local authorities and after the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is passed.”
Jennie Daly, chief executive at Taylor Wimpey, said: “However, the government’s housing ambitions, and the significant economic and social benefits of increased housing supply can only be unlocked by effective demand, particularly for affordability constrained first time buyers.”
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