Oh dear, two large companies combine and, like an intergalactic "event" only negative matter remains....a case of 1 + 1 = 0.2

Let me say - sp a year ago was 10x today's - so this business has earned its place in the 90% club....and maybe more to come, as they will need to go overseas for cash, if the UK is dry.

I doubt there is a UK Builder with enough dosh to bail-out this dullard. They all thought they could expand until the UK burst with immigrants - yet they consistently went for pricier properties and projects where ( even now), there is some doubt whether there are enough jobs to support new-build developments.

EDIT ( Nov 2015 ) - Seven years on and we're at 183p - so anyone that bought at the all-time Low has done very well - but the Market was fearful and that meant few were Buying. 2009/2010 averaged about 40p - that was a good time if you had the LT cash.
With the rise and yield-multiplier effect, this is looking like Buying it was "probably" inspired.... but it has not regained that earlier Value - which will surely take a lot longer.

George most stock prices got smashed and for good reason ,i still think this will be a lot higher in say one year ,negatives are the end of the stamp duty at 125000 at the year end i think then it goes back to 175000 also as you say general recovery ,people have to buy TW's houses ,however prices have stabilised and land values have stopped falling..

Jones Lang forecast 7% fall in property prices in 2010.

Who are Jones Lang ? ...Its rather like the markets there are all sorts of analysts calling a big drop and others saying that 5000 underpins the recovery ,no one knows for sure ,,lets see ...

The traditional autumn season for selling new homes has begun. But after 18 months in which new-build levels fell to unprecedented lows, those who were expecting bargain-basement deals might be in for a surprise.

Developers have had to lower their prices, but Knight Frank, the estate agent, estimates that prices for new-build houses are only 15 per cent off their 2007 peak, having bounced back about 10 per cent since the start of this year. Prices for new-build flats fell more steeply and are still down by about a quarter, but many agents and developers believe that the time for real bargains when housebuilders were desperate for cash and gave discounts of up to 40 per cent on finished homes is over.

The reason is that developers are starting to benefit from the mess they found themselves in. Meanwhile, would-be buyers are confronted by a market starved of new homes because housebuilders have been unable, or unwilling, to finance developments or to make their costs stack up against current prices. In the South East, one of the most resilient regions, the number of homes started last year was down 36 per cent on 2007 and at the lowest level since the Second World War. Homes being completed now would have to have been started in the depths of recession. Not enough people were brave enough, or stupid enough, to do it, says Yolande Barnes, head of residential research at Savills, the estate agent.

In Cambridge, David Bentley, who heads the new homes office of Bidwells, another estate agent, says that finished stock was being sold at a discount last year but there is very little left. In areas where theres a good track record of capital growth, homebuyers will need to get used to buying off-plan again, he says.

Related Links
The wow factor is hard to find as developers play safe with family homes
How to find value in novelty
The housebuilder Taylor Wimpey says that most of the new homes it will complete this year have been sold and it is considering starting up to 40 developments this year to sell off-plan. We will focus on more southern areas and there will be an increase in the number of family homes, says Kevin Belsham, the sales director

Looks like a bear squeeze here .

Opportunities among housebuilders, says RBS

Business Financial Newswire

Taylor Wimpey and Bovis are looking attractive following a sharp fall in the UK housebuilders sector after the Barratt and Redrow rights issues last week, says RBS.

Analyst William Jones reckons fundamentals are largely unchanged and opportunities look to be emerging.

On Taylor Wimpey (buy), RBS still has 15% upside to its 47p price target, while Bovis (hold) offers 10% upside to the target of 505p.

0604 GMT [Dow Jones] Morgan Stanley initiates coverage of UK builders, having a positive 12-month view on the UK housing market. Sees constrained supply driving house prices higher. Prefers Taylor Wimpey (TW.LN) and Barratt Developments (BDEV.LN), which it rates as overweight, with 64p price target and 250p ex-rights price target, respectively. Believes the market is undervaluing Taylor Wimpey's UK business "at just 0.9x tangible NAV when we apply a disposal multiple to the US division." Says Barratt Barratt's action to strengthen its balance sheet should create future value. Starts Persimmon (PSN.LN) and Berkeley Group (BKG.LN) at equalweight with 540p and 1000p price targets. (MMA)

Bouncing back now ,onwards and upwards ..

i agree with that jimmy b. i think this could be back at 55p some time early next year.

Nutter jtoney.

no nutter not the word, just an investor earning a lot of money on the stock market

Post #119 says 64p. I'll be happy with that for starters.

Solid start to the week.

Home loans up 29% on last year
Date: Monday 12 Oct 2009


There was a small drop in the number of house purchase loans in August versus the month before, but they were 29% higher than a year ago.

People took out 53,000 loans to buy houses during the month, far less than the 100,000 average during the seven years before the credit crisis, but twice the level of activity at the start of the year, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

It revealed that 19,200 loans were handed out to first-time buyers and 33,400 to home movers.

House purchase activity has revived from its moribund state at the beginning of the year, said CML economist Paul Samter. It will be a drawn out recovery process with seasonal ups and downs, but house purchase activity is now on a firmer footing.

The number of remortgages fell 22% in August to 32,000 for a 57% year-on-year slump, while their value declined 21% to 3.7bn, or 63% from August 2008.

Remortgaging activity continued to fall away due to the extremely low interest rate environment and restrictive lending criteria for the most attractive deals, said the CML.

The value of house purchase activity eased 3% from July to 7.2bn, while gross mortgage lending, which encapsulates all mortgage lending activity including house purchase, remortgage, and buy-to-let lending, tumbled 36% year-on-year to 12.3bn.

You still in GF ?? i was out and now back in after the drop.

Not trying to frighten anyone, this is just for info.

My partner and I are selling a property and viewing have been very frequent even in the area this property is located! However, in the last week we have had no one round. We viewed a property on Saturday which was owned by an estate agent and he admitted (confimed by my agent today) that the market has gone dead in the last 7 days.

This could be due to either 1) Just temporary weakness 2) A run down for Xmas (seems unlikely as that is usually at the end of November or 3) The end of the market improvement. If it is the latter then I would expect the builders to start retreating. I own TW. but confess I am nervous as the recent 6 mnths run coincided with a sudden upturn in the housing market.

As always DYOR

Yep same path as you Jimmy.

Out and now back in. Good trading stock.

Needs to get through the 45p ..

Yeah 1.45 :-)

Could help....

Housing market strongest since May 2007
Tue 13 Oct 2009

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Britains housing market improved in September as demand continued to outstrip supply, with the number of surveyors reporting rising prices at its highest in well over two years.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the number of surveyors and estate agents reporting an increase in prices beat the number recording a fall by 22%.

That was much better than the 10% figure for August and easily beat economists prediction for 15% this time. Todays number was the best since May 2007.

"A lack of supply is still underpinning the rise in house prices with new instructions to estate agents only edging up very gradually," said Rics spokesman Ian Perry.

"This imbalance between demand and supply suggests that house prices will move higher in the near term."

http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=3058250