If Taylor Wimpey‘s (LSE: TW) share price was a house, the roof would have fallen in. It’s plunged 55% over five years and 20% over the last 12 months.

That understates the pain investors have suffered. At around 77p, the FTSE 250 housebuilder is trading at similar levels to 13 years ago. Probably the only thing I can say is that most of this hasn’t been its fault.

The housebuilding sector’s been hammered by Brexit, the pandemic, the affordability crisis, the end of Help to Buy, soaring interest rates and years of political uncertainty. The occasional stamp duty holiday eased the pain, but otherwise it’s been misery all the way.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we’ve also had the cladding scandal. Taylor Wimpey has set aside more than £500m for cladding and fire safety remediation since the Grenfell tragedy.

The one bonus for investors has been the income. At times, Taylor Wimpey’s dividend yield has nudged 10%. Investors got generous shareholder payouts while they waited for the recovery. Unfortunately, even that’s collapsed.

Now even the income’s falling

On 31 July, Taylor Wimpey slashed the interim dividend by 74% and lowered annual shareholder returns target from 7.5% of net assets to 4%. The forward yield is just 3%, although that does rise to 4.5% in 2027. Ignore websites showing 9.8%. That’s history.

The shares are falling again too, down around 10% in the last month. As someone who bought the stock with high hopes three years ago, I can hardly bear to watch.

Dividends have reduced my losses, and because I bought when the shares were already marked lower I’m only down around 15% overall. I still don’t see much respite.

Mortgage lenders have been raising rates as swap rates climb. Markets are now pricing in four Bank of England base rate hikes by July 2027. That would inflict yet more misery.

First-half results (31 July) show Taylor Wimpey is still making money. Revenue rose 1.7% to £1.68bn, yet adjusted operating profit fell 19.4% to £130m. The company expects 2026 completions of between 10,600 and 10,800 homes, with pricing around 2% below last year.

Could that 110p target happen?

There is a glimmer of hope. The consensus 12-month share price target is 85p. If correct, that’s an increase of just over 10% from today’s 77p. Which is better than a loss, I suppose.

The most optimistic forecast is 110p. That was RBC Capital Markets at the end of July. That would mean a gain of around 43%. It could happen. If the Iran war is resolved, inflation falls and mortgage rates settle down, this is the type of stock that could spearhead the recovery. But any investor who gambled on that outcome is taking a big risk. Having said that, I’m not selling. So I suppose I am taking that gamble.

I think Taylor Wimpey’s worth considering with a very long-term view. But I can see plenty of other FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 stocks that I’d prefer today.

Should you invest £5,000 in Taylor Wimpey Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Taylor Wimpey Plc made the list?

Harvey Jones owns shares in Taylor Wimpey.