UK's Berkeley cautious about housing market but maintains profit guidance

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - British house builder Berkeley Group Holdings Plc maintained its 2023 outlook on Friday and said house prices remained firm, but added it was cautious as sales are falling amid volatility in the property market.

The FTSE 100 listed developer said UK housing sales since the end of September were down around 25% from the September to February period of the previous year.

Berkeley said its sales pricing in the four months to Feb. 28 remained firm and above business plan levels.

"This is a resilient performance in the context of the market volatility since the end of September and reflects the underlying demand for quality homes in London and the South East," the company said in a statement.

Britain's property sector has cooled and house prices have fallen from pandemic highs as demand suffered from higher borrowing costs and lower mortgage approvals.

However, some indicators have pointed to a slight uptick in the sector, with data from Halifax bank earlier this week showing an unexpected jump in prices last month, potentially reflecting improvements in mortgage rates and consumer confidence.

Berkeley's update chimed with other major British homebuilders Persimmon, Barratt Development and Taylor Wimpey which have recently flagged similar market setbacks that have hit their profit margins and building targets.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, an online investment platform, said the housing market is still reeling from market turmoil last September triggered by then prime minister Liz Truss's fiscal policies.

"The stark contrast in financial performance pre and post September highlights the extent to which the mini-budget’s fallout for mortgage costs caused shockwaves across the housing market," Scholar said.

Berkeley said it will continue to focus on cost control, with build cost inflation showing early signs of moderating.

The company maintained its profit forecast of about 600 million pounds ($720 million) for the full year to April 30, against 551.5 million pounds in the previous year. It expects pre-tax earnings of at least 1.05 billion pounds for 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.

($1 = 0.8372 pounds) (Reporting by Suban Abdulla and Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Bradley Perrett and Susan Fenton)