What's making headlines in the rest of the press
First-time homebuyers are disappearing from the market as country-house purchasers move back into it. Upmarket estate agent FPD Savills reported a busy summer as confidence returned to the market (Independent, 4 September). In particular, country house sales got a boost after a quiet spring.

More bad news if you're looking for your first home: land shortages are set to push up prices and keep first-time buyers out of the market. Developers have just two-and-a-half years' supply of land left with planning permission for homes (Western Mail, 8 September).

On the markets, two housebuilders saw their shares rocket as they joined forces while others watched prices fall. Taylor Woodrow struck a £480m deal to buy Wilson Connolly (Financial Times, 2 September). Wilcon's interim profit went up 69%, making it an attractive proposition for takeover. Its shares rose 42% between the start of the year and last Friday, while Taylor Woodrow's shares hit a 12-year high of 252.25p.

But shares in Berkeley Group fell 2.2% after chief executive Tony Pidgley sold £1m of his stock; and Wimpey, Redrow and Bellway also saw falls of between 2.2% and 3.3%.

Mark Hake, analyst at Merrill Lynch, said in the Financial Times: "Pidgley is seen as a bit of a guru in the sector. When he acts, the rest of the world follows suit."

Source

Housing Today