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BUZZ-Housebuilders: suffering after broker downgrades

Reuters - UK Focus

** Housebuilders firmly in the red as Jefferies adds to bearish comments around UK property stocks from brokers as general election year gets underway

** Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW.L - news) , Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV.L - news) & Persimmon (Other OTC: PSMMY - news) top 3 FTSE 100 fallers, down 3.3-4.5 pct, with midcaps Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS.L - news) , Berkeley, Bellway & Redrow all down more than 2.5 pct

** Negative newsflow on UK mortgage approvals, UK housing transactions, weak house price data & lower UK GDP growth will lead to share price weakness in UK residential sector in Q1 2015, Jefferies says

** This weakness will continue into Q2 given uncertainty around the UK general election in May, it says

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** Among the broker's sector-wide downgrades, it cuts the following stocks to "underperform": Barratt Developments (from 'buy') & Berkeley, Persimmon & Rightmove (from 'hold')

** Estate agent Foxtons extends weakness seen Thurs when it dropped almost 6 pct on Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) downgrade; that broker also highlighted unknowns in general election yr

** Halifax mortgage data showing Britain's housing market was cooling further was released on Thurs (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)