Last-time buyers sitting tight

RETIREMENT home builder McCarthy & Stone has blamed fears of an interest rate hike for unsettling the property market. The Bournemouth-based group - responsible for an estimated 60% of homes in the UK retirement sector - said it was currently seeing a lower level of forward sales than a year ago.

Chairman and chief executive Keith Lovelock said: 'This time last year the market was strengthening prior to what transpired to be a strong spring and summer sales period.

'Yet today, in the short term, we are facing the market uncertainty created by the election and concern over the future course of interest rates. These factors are having an influence on what is already a restrained market.'

As a result of the market uncertainty, the group said it was 'slightly more cautious' about results for the second half of the financial year. The comments came as McCarthy said turnover rose 18% to £131m in the six months to February 28, helping interim profits to rise by 10% to £48.3m.

Lovelock said the figures represented a 'strong performance' but warned that prospective purchasers were taking longer to commit to reservations and that higher selling prices could no longer be relied upon to offset any volume weakness.

The shares fell 13½p to 619½p in morning trading.