Bellway latest house builder to record higher sales

HOUSEBUILDER Bellway added to cheer over the property market as it reported higher prices and a surge in demand since the UK government’s Help to Buy scheme was launched.

Bellway have boosted their output to meet demand caused by government schemes. Picture: TSPL

The Newcastle-based group said it has seen average weekly reservations jump by nearly a third since the beginning of February, with 360 homes reserved through the Help to Buy initiative since it launched in April.

Its average property value has also risen, by 5 per cent to £200,300, after achieving better-than-expected sale prices across some new sites in the south of England.

The figures provide the latest sign that the UK housing market is gathering momentum, with Halifax this week reporting the strongest annual increase in prices for more than two years in May, up 2.6 per cent year-on-year to £166,898 on average.

Bellway – the UK’s fourth-biggest housebuilder – said it had been “encouraged” by the pick-up in the property market.

“Wider accessibility to affordable, higher loan-to-value mortgages has led to visitor numbers and reservations being ahead of expectations, further enhanced by an increase in the number of active sales outlets,” it said.

The group has secured reservations expected to lead to sales of £380 million in the new financial year, which compares with £270m sold in the year to July 2012.