Adds details on forward sales, company comment Aug 18(Reuters) - Persimmon PSN.L, Britain's No. 2 homebuilder, said on Wednesday current forward sales are up about 9% from pre-pandemic levels, allaying some fears of a cooling housing market after the partial removal of a temporary tax break. The FTSE 100 firm also said that despite experiencing increased cost inflation related to certain components of the supply chain, it currently expects its "industry leading returns to remain resilient".