LONDON (Reuters) - Barratt Developments (L:BDEV), Britain's biggest housebuilder, said it expected to build more homes this year than previously forecast, with the uncertainty of an election, often blamed for cooling the market in the past, having no impact on sales.
Barratt, which has previously said it would build around 15,700 homes in the year to end of June 2015, said on Wednesday that it now expected around 16,100 completions over the same period.
CEO Mark Clare told Reuters that the run-up to last week's polls had no discernible effect on sales despite the uncertainty ahead of a vote often blamed for deterring some buyers as they wait to see the outcome.
"I think for most of the country and even most parts of London, buyers were buying. There was no real let-up," he said, despite polls predicting an uncertain outcome, with neither the ruling Conservatives nor opposition Labour able to govern alone.
Labour had planned to introduce measures which could have cooled demand, including an annual tax on high-value properties and plans to scrap tax rules which allow wealthy individuals to legally reduce the amount of tax paid on money earned abroad.
"At the very top end of course there is uncertainty caused by things like mansion tax, non-doms and such like but it was affecting very, very small numbers," Clare said.
Barratt said its forward sales were up 18 percent compared to mid-May last year and that it had launched 64 new developments to continue boosting volumes next year.
House prices have risen strongly across Britain over the last two years, thanks this year in part due to cuts in the property tax stamp duty, with the Nationwide reporting that house price growth hit a 10-month high in April.