RIGHTMOVE GROUP 
LONDON (Reuters) - British property website Rightmove (>> Rightmove Plc) said the uncertainty ahead of a June 23 referendum on Britain's EU membership had contributed to pushing down property transactions.
But Britain's third-largest housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (>> Taylor Wimpey plc) said the Brexit vote had no meaningful effect on its performance in the last month, with trading in line with normal patterns, helped by government incentive schemes.
Rightmove, which posted a 21 percent rise in operating profit in the first half of 2016, said some buyers also rushed to buy homes before a property tax rise introduced in April, reducing demand thereafter.
"(Transactions) were lower year-on-year in the second quarter as a consequence of buyers having brought forward purchases in the first quarter to avoid additional Stamp Duty liabilities and due to the increased economic uncertainty in the lead up to the EU referendum," the firm said.
Taylor Wimpey Chief Executive Pete Redfern said government incentive schemes to promote housebuilding was one reason why demand for new homes was likely to remain stronger than for existing properties, which forms a significant part of Rightmove's business.
"You will see lower transactions in the second-hand market...I think a lot of that is to do with sellers more than buyers. Sellers are actually in some cases more cautious than buyers which doesn't really impact on new build at all," Redfern told Reuters.
However, the firm, which posted a 12 percent rise in pre-tax profit to 267 million pounds ($350.14 million) in the first half of 2016, said it had slowed the pace of land buying shortly after the EU vote and looked again at some housebuilding programmes.
"We haven't actively slowed our programmes on any sites but we'll continue to look at trading over the next few weeks," Redfern said.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Sarah Young and Susan Thomas)
