Foxtons Group PLC (LSE:FOXT) has said it expects the ripples of last year’s chaotic September mini-budget to be felt by the house sales market throughout the rest of 2023.
House sales deals fell after September and Foxtons expects a more ‘challenging’ twelve months although mortgage rates have started to reduce in recent weeks and buyer activity is picking up.
This might result in a more favourable sales market “in the latter part of the year,” the estate agency chain added.
Rental rates are also likely to normalise again after the surge in 2023 though the current situation of low volumes and high prices is not likely to change.
The London-focused firm doubled its dividend to 0.9p in 2022 as profits jumped by 115% to £11.9mln, while revenues rose by 11% to £140mln.
Guy Gittins, chief executive, said 2022 had been a year of good financial progress, with revenue growth across lettings, sales and financial services.
Lettings and financial services should offset most of the impact of lower volume sales, he added in the final results statement.
In early trading, Foxtons' shares rose 2.4% to 42.20p.