Housing firm Taylor Wimpey has talked of weak buyer confidence caused by high mortgage rates and cost of living pressures.

In a new trading update, the High Wycombe-based company said it is likely to meet the top end of operating profit expectations of between £440m and £470m this year, though that is around half of what it was last year. And amid uncertainty in the market bosses said it would build fewer homes this year, between 10,000 and 10,500, compared with more than 14,000 in 2022.

Across the year to date, the company's net private sales rate was down slightly to 0.63 versus 0.74 in 2022 with a cancellation rate that remained steady at 18%. Its order book was also diminished, which stood at about £1.9bn at the end of last week, compared with £2.6bn last year - the different between 9,153 homes in 2022 and 7,042 homes this year.

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Jennie Daly, CEO, described a resilient performance across a challenging market backdrop. She said: "Due to our focus on optimising price and sharp cost discipline, we now expect group operating profit to be at the top end of our guidance range of £440m to £470m. This performance is testament to the hard work of our experienced teams, who have continued to adapt and support customers through their buying journey while being focused on delivering efficiencies across the business.

"Taylor Wimpey is a strong, sustainable and agile business underpinned by a robust balance sheet and an excellent well-located landbank. These attributes ensure we are well positioned to manage the business and optimise performance in all market conditions, delivering quality homes to our customers and long term growth and value to our stakeholders. Looking ahead, while the market backdrop remains uncertain, we are confident in the medium to long term sector fundamentals, with a meaningful supply and demand imbalance in UK housing."

Rivals of Taylor Wimpey have all reported similarly downbeat results in recent months, with recent examples including Persimmon which saw completions fall 37%, Barratt which revealed a significant sales slump and Bellway which has also lowered its sights in terms of annual completions.