Builder bounce

BARRATT yesterday became the latest big housebuilder to point to recovering consumer demand, after orders during the first half of its financial year rose by 27 per cent.

But the firm warned that mortgage availability continued to be constrained, and it was focused on selling fewer flats to drive "significant improvement in operating margin".

Barratt hopes the strategy will lift its average selling price by up to 10 per cent. The group posted a narrower pre-tax loss of 178.4 million in the six months to 31 December, after it took a hit from costs related to its rights issue. The interim loss in 2008 was 594.5m.