Countrywide reports strong sales in first four months as housing boom continues |
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Fri, 12 May 2006 12:30
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LONDON - Britain's biggest estate agent, Countrywide yesterday reported sales of £92 million in the first four months of the year and said that the property boom is showing no signs of subsiding as Britons seem to want to invest more money into property markets.
Countrywide's sales shot up by 40 percent in the first four months of the year. The group, which was founded by its chairman Christopher Sporborg in 1985, said that this year "the financial results of all our operating divisions have exceeded our internal expectations". It added that the movement in the property market remained hectic.
Mr Sporborg on his part said that the results showed his company was doing something right. He also regretted the fact that when the company floated, he elected to take just 150,000 shares for himself, "In those days, one did things differently," he said.
He added that although the market remained robust, there were demand and supply concerns. "The problem with the housing market is that supply is outweighed by demand. For every house that comes on the market, three or four people want to buy it," he said.
He admitted he was "nervous" about the possibility of a rise in the interest rates, which was indicated by Bank Governor Mervyn King on Wednesday, "You can stifle demand for houses by clobbering people with high rates, but I am not sure how sensible that is," Mr Sporborg said. Attempts to curb the growth of the housing market could backfire, he warned.
Countrywide also said that it earned an average fee of £3,130 per transaction and was confident of meeting its targets, "Our view is that, provided macroeconomic conditions remain reasonably benign, the housing market will be sufficiently buoyant in the remainder of the year to enable Countrywide to comfortably achieve expectations," a company statement said.
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