Wimpey says housing market cooling

The UK's largest builder of new homes, George Wimpey, has said it sees signs that the UK property market is easing.

"There is some evidence that the rapid rate of house price inflation seen earlier in the year, and now showing through published statistics, is moderating to more sustainable levels," the company said.

Rival homebuilders Persimmon and Berkeley Group have also said recently that they saw signs of moderation in the property market.

In a trading update, Wimpey said strong trading in the first three months of the year, had continued into the second quarter, with the average selling price of homes rising by 18%.

The company said it was confident that results for the full-year would show "good progress" over last year's figures.

Shares in George Wimpey stood 0.5p lower at 266.5p in lunchtime trade on Wednesday.