Taylor Wimpey鈥檚 total home completions increased by 3% in 2018 to 14,947, including joint ventures (2017: 14,541). Of these, 3,416 were affordable homes, including joint ventures, equating to 23% of total completions (2017: 19%).
Average selling prices on private completions increased by 2% to 拢301k (2017: 拢296k), with the overall average selling price remaining flat at 拢264k (2017: 拢264k).
Trading was described as 鈥渞obust despite seeing some signs of increasing customer caution towards the end of 2018 in London and the southeast.鈥�
Total order book at the end of 2018 was worth 拢1,782m, up from 拢1,628m during the year, as a result of a strategy to increase efficiency and drive growth by targeting large sites. This order book represents 8,304 homes (31 December 2017: 7,136 homes), with the growth due to a continued rise in affordable housing.
Build cost inflation in 2018 was in the region of 3-4%.
Chief executive Pete Redfern said: "I am pleased to report another year of strong performance, in line with our expectations. Despite wider macroeconomic uncertainty, the housing market remained stable during 2018 and we had a good trading performance. We are continuing to deliver against our strategy and ended the year in a positive position, underpinned by our strong order book and balance sheet.
鈥淎s we enter 2019, we maintain our guidance for stable volumes although are mindful of market sensitivity. We are confident that our focused strategy of managing the business through the cycle and driving further operational improvements will enable us to continue to deliver a high-quality product and service to our customers, long term value for shareholders and growth into 2020."
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