Taylor Wimpey has stated that it remains confident for 2025 despite issuing a warning over higher building costs from tax changes announced in the Autumn Budget.

The housebuilder said it is still “well placed to play a part” in addressing the undersupply of UK housing, as it also expects its full year operating profit to be in line with previous guidance of £416m.

The announcement came as part of a trading update to the market by the group, ahead of publishing its full year results for the year to 31 December 2024, which will be announced on 27 February.

Taylor Wimpey’s total group completions in 2024 reached 10,593, a total slightly down on the 2023 level of 10,848, while UK home completions totalled 9,972, also down on 2023 when it managed 10,356.

The housebuilder also revealed that its order book was valued at £2bn at the end of 2024, up from £1.7bn a year earlier, which excluding joint ventures represents 7,312 homes – a figure also up on last year (6,999).

“While market conditions are uncertain, and we continue to monitor the impact of mortgage costs on affordability, we enter 2025 with a strong order book and land position, underpinned by a robust balance sheet and highly experienced teams, which positions us well to deliver volume growth in 2025,” Taylor Wimpey CEO, Jennie Daly, said.

“We remain confident in the attractive medium and long-term fundamentals of the sector and are well placed to play our part in addressing the significant undersupply of UK housing.”

Property analyst at Quilter Cheviot, Oli Creasey, said that there are “valid reasons” that Taylor Wimpey’s sales volumes have not grown in line with peers.

“Notably, Taylor Wimpey operates with 9% fewer sales offices open on average over the year,” Creasey highlighted. “It is also worth noting that the fall from peak volumes has been smaller for Taylor Wimpey versus its peers, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that the recovery is more sedate.

“Taylor Wimpey’s sales prices declined marginally by 1.5% year-on-year, again slightly behind peers. Management has noted that there is some weakness in pricing in the South of England, where affordability is most stretched, while prices in the North prices have been increasing.

“The outlook for 2025 is robust based on the growing order book. Taylor Wimpey has noted an encouraging start to the year based on enquiry levels in the first two weeks but does also note that it is too early to read too much into this evidence.”

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