If you'd invested in: Bovis Homes and Crest Nicholson

If only...

Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) operates three regional housebuilding businesses in the UK. Shares of the firm, which fought off a bid from rival Galliford Try last April, have risen by roughly 40% in the past year. In March, Bovis reported results for 2017 during which turnover fell by 3% to £1.03bn, despite a 7% increase in the average selling price to £272,400 from £254,900 the year before. Pre-tax profit met expectations at £124.3m, down from £154.7m in 2016. However, the firm also ended the year with a net cash balance of £145m, up from £38.6m a year earlier.

Be glad you didn't buy

Crest Nicholson (LSE: CRST) develops sustainable housing and mixed-use communities. Its shares have declined by roughly 20% over the past year. This is despite reporting solid results in January for the year to 31 October 2017, during which sales were up 7% to £1.1bn. It also posted a 5% rise in revenues, from £997m to £1bn, as well as a 6% rise in pre-tax profits, from £207m to £195m. The results were boosted by demand for new homes being underpinned by rising employment and low interest rates. The shares currently yield 7%.

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Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.

Alice is now Consumer Editor at The Sun and covers everything from energy bills to Social Security.