House builder Berkeley has a track record of beating expectations, but the recent update from Bovis suggested a cloud forming over the sector.
Last month Bovis had a grumble about planning delays on new building sites as it issued a surprise profit warning.
Other house builders still seem to be living the life of Riley since the Conservative general election victory, which saw off the threat of the so-called mansion tax.
The new government has since spoken of its plans for a large housebuilding programme over the next few years, which if nothing else should do wonders for the land bank values of the builders.
Friday's interims come almost two months after Berkeley's interim management statement in which it said it remained on track to deliver earnings in the region of £2bn over the next three years, which will support its plans to return 433p a share by September 2018, and a further 433p per share by September 2021.
Low-cost airline easyJet releases passenger statistics for November that will reveal the extent, if any, to which terrorist attacks during the month affected demand for overseas travel.
Significant announcements expected
Interim: Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKG)
Trading statement: easyJet (LON:EZJ)
Economic: Eurozone – PMI retail; US – Balance of trade