During the second half of the year, Gleeson sold 829 homes compared with 1,068 in the same period in 2022, reflecting a downturn in the wider economy and the immediate impact of higher interest rates.
In its latest trading update, Gleeson Homes says that selling prices proved “resilient” mainly because of a shortage of supply and this helped to offset increase materials and labour costs.
The average selling prices of a Gleeson home last year was £186,200, up from £167,300 last year.
Gleeson reports a significant shift in buyer demographics in the second half of the year with first-time buyers accounting for around 50% of open-market reservations (FY2022: 71%) while more than 20% of sales were to purchasers over 55 years old (FY2022: 10%).
During the course of the year, Gleeson Homes restructured the business from nine regional management teams to six and moved to a standardised operating structure. The process resulted in annualised administrative overhead cost savings of £3.2m, at a one-off cost of £1.0m.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
