The five housebuilders in our UK PIN Fund (a fictional fund consisting of property-related shares listed on the FTSE) returned 12.3% in the second quarter of this year, compared to 11.1% for the Fund overall. Our Fund comfortably outperformed the FTSE 100, which increased by 1.8% in Q2, but the housebuilders performed particularly well, especially Bellway, which returned 20.9%, despite not paying a dividend in the quarter.

While its Q2 results have not been released yet, on 10 June Bellway released a trading update for the period from 1 February to 1 June, reporting ‘robust trading through the spring selling season, with an increase in customer confidence and reservation rates compared to the first half of the financial year’.

This translates into an increase in off-plan purchases of almost 8% compared to June last year, despite the recent end to the stamp duty holiday. Also, recent weakness in UK land prices, combined with Labour’s promises on delivering more new homes, has led to housebuilders acquiring more land and Bellway has almost doubled the number of land plots that it has contracted to purchase in the past year, up from 3,906 in June 2024 to 6,759 plots in June this year.

Jason Honeyman, group chief executive at Bellway, commented: “Bellway has delivered a solid trading performance, and we are on track to deliver strong growth in volume output and profits in the full financial year. We have a healthy forward order book and outlet opening programme, which will serve as a platform for further growth in FY26.”

The New Build Boost Scheme
The New Build Boost scheme has been designed to make new build homes more accessible. Its key benefit is an interest-free equity loan that significantly reduces the initial mortgage requirement, making homeownership more achievable with a lower upfront deposit.