Barratt Redrow has reported a 10.1% slowdown in forward sales, which totalled 10,245 homes in the 12 months to the end of March.

This compared to 11,402 in the same period a year earlier, with the value of the housebuilder’s total sales slipping from £3.2bn to £3.13bn in the year.

High inflation has impacted the housebuilding sector in recent years with the resulting higher interest rates and mortgage costs damaging sales, while the sector has faced more recent uncertainty from the Government’s stamp changes and tariffs in the US.

Barratt Redrow did however suggest it is still “well-positioned for sustainable growth”, after revealing it expects to deliver total completions of between 16,800 and 17,200 homes across the next full financial year.

The housebuilder added that while macroeconomic uncertainty had increased, it had been encouraged by the Government’s ongoing commitment to increase housebuilding activity and proposed supply-side support.

Chief executive of Barratt Redrow, David Thomas, said the group was “making good progress on both cost and revenue synergies”.

“In addition to realising the power of our differentiated brands, we are also focused on unlocking the full potential of our enhanced land position,” Thomas added. “This has been further supported by the Government's proposed planning reforms.

“The fundamentals for our industry remain strong, with a clear need for new homes across all tenures and a national focus on accelerating delivery. We have the scale, industry partnerships and unrivalled credentials in quality, service and sustainability required to capture the opportunities ahead and deliver growth.”

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, added that Barratt Redrow had “done well to quell worries” after becoming the first UK housebuilder to update markets on performance since the “storm” of both tariff uncertainty and stamp duty changes.

“While it’s still too early to tell if US-led tariff uncertainty will cause a global slowdown and weigh on buyer confidence, Barratt Redrow is in about as good a position as it can be for now,” Chiekrie commented.

“The enlarged balance sheet is in good shape, with the net cash position set to improve heading into the final stretch of its financial year. That should mean there’s plenty of room to fuel growth and investor returns.”

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