Housebuilders are on a sticky wicket at present, with rising interest rates, demand slowing and inflation still putting pressure on costs.
Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) will give another glimpse of how all this is working through the financials of the sector when it releases a trading update on Tuesday.
In its last update, in March, the northeast-based builder revealed reservations had dropped by 44% in the six months to January though it softened that blow with a £100mln handout and a suggestion things were improving again.
Whether that remains the case is the key point tomorrow.
Peer Crest Nicholson reported sales had slowed again recently when it updated earlier this week, as rising mortgage rates are putting off potential buyers.
Mortgages are being repriced almost daily currently and if interest rates continued to remain elevated for a sustained period of time, it would make market conditions worse and would impact demand and confidence again, said Crest.
Shares in Bellway have fallen sharply in the past month and dropped again after Crest’s comment to 2,238p currently, down around 8% in the last month.