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.

Good note out from Liberum:
"Current trading. We have spoken to one unlisted housebuilder and two quoted peers. The unlisted company told us that its sales rate was 5% slower in September than in August, but that prices had remained firm. The two volume builders confirmed that trading volumes continue to be sluggish, continuing the trend seen since the summer, but, importantly, that prices have remained firm.

Not as bad as Halifax suggests but lacking a catalyst. The sector sold off yesterday as the Halifax House Price Index claimed that house prices had fallen 3.6% in September, but it is worth remembering that Nationwide estimated a +0.1% change for September. We think that the Halifax index may not be as reliable a guide as it once was as that institutions share of lending has fallen significantly. We think that housebuilders are well placed to judge underlying prices and therefore we estimate that house prices have been basically flat since May 2010. This is not a bad outcome and gives the housebuilders a platform from which to improve margins as new (lower cost) land is developed, sites replanned and build costs reduced. But, improving trading could be a catalyst for improving share price performance, and this appears to have been delayed at best.

Too early to change recommendations or estimates. The stock market has already discounted a deteriorating volume environment, as can be seen by the sector underperforming the market by 10% in the last three months, with 7% of that in the last month, so it is probably already too late to be much more cautious. In addition, changing NAV or EPS estimates now is also somewhat premature, in our view, especially if the Spending Review is more benign than feared. We also note that interest rates remain very accommodating to house prices, and are not expected to change anytime soon.

Stock calls. We remain comfortable as buyers of Berkeley, because of the strong balance sheet, London exposure and hidden value. We also see extreme value in Barratt, and would not be unduly concerned about NAV unless house prices fell more than 5%. Bellway is the last of our Buy recommendations (and has performed well since we upgraded) where we expect better performance as cautious institutions return to the sector, but this may prove too optimistic. We have no sell recommendations, but see risks in Persimmon as valuation is a bit more stretched than others and it has significant exposure to Wales, North East and Scotland, where employment is most overweight to the public sector, and we remain concerned that Taylor Woodrows cash flows are still not strong enough to sustain high debt levels."

"Taylor Woodrow" - really?

Well spotted skinny! Somewhat detracts from their credibility.

Liberum talking from their asses. Taylor Woodrow... hahaha...

Doesn't help with all these so called financial experts and brokers spouting off either,double dip ,doom and gloom ,etc etc.

Brokers out with recent Buys........

Taylor Wimpey PLC

FORECASTS 2010 2011
Date Rec Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p)

Investec Securities
08-10-10 BUY 7.06 -0.41 52.88 1.16

Shore Capital [R]
08-10-10 HOLD -77.90 -1.70

Panmure Gordon
07-10-10 BUY 35.50 0.79 63.10 1.42

Don't trust those brokers... double dip is coming up soon

In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that UK house prices could be in line for further correction.

In a round-up of the state of the worlds economies, the body notes that the UKs two stamp-duty holidays (the first expiring in December 2009 and the current two-year exemption brought in in March for first-time buyers) partially explains the relatively better indicators in the UK market compared with the US market.

However, the IMF adds: What remains worrisome is that house prices are still high based on traditional valuation yardsticks, and policy support may not be enough to prevent further correction.

According to the report: If employment creation remains low, risks of a double dip in housing naturally increase.

The assessment, published yesterday, was followed by Halifax reporting a 3.6% slide in the price of the average UK home, to 162,096.

The September fall left the annual rate of gain at only 2.6%, and the quarterly change at -0.9%, compared with the previous three month period.

I still maintain that these will get considerably cheaper, UK is not good and US is dire.
2517

House prices are falling in most areas of the UK according to the latest survey of its members by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Forty-four percent of estate agents surveyed in September said prices fell last month, 6% reported an increase while 50% saw no change.

Adjusting for seasonality, it meant the RICS house price index dropped to -36 in the three months to September from -32 in the three months to August.

It is the third month running that the ratio of falls to rises has worsened, with a steady number of new houses coming onto the market blamed for the deterioration.

New instructions picked up in September from +12 to +22, while the net balance for new buyer enquiries moderated from 17 to 2. Significantly the gap between the two series narrowed for the third consecutive month, RICS said. The price expectations net balance continued to deteriorate, slipping from 38 to 41.

Scotland is the only place to buck the weak trend with more surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices.

"First-time buyers are in particularly short supply as the high deposits required by lenders prevent them from taking their first steps on the property ladder," said Rics spokesperson Ian Perry. " Without sufficient demand, property prices continue to slip back," he added.

StockMarketWire.com
Taylor Wimpey downgraded to hold from buy at Investec.

Investec changed their mind over the last fortnight then. (post 312)
2517

A kid could call it as well as most brokers ,of course they downgraded ,it went down !!!

Starting to look tempting @ their current 22.5p ish, but I still think around 20p is possible.
2517

I think it's time to scoop up some as it has dropped about 25% lately.

hlyeo98, yes they have despite several brokers buy recommendations a few weeks ago. I am tempted but feel they could go sub 20p from their current 22.5p ish.
2517

StockMarketWire.com
Taylor Wimpey downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse.

Probably start rising now then!

excellent I.M.S. from the boss off redrow this guy pulls no punches.

Up 10% on good volume.