In a trading update on the six months ended 31 December 2013, Barratt reported a 19% increase in housing completions up to 6,195 (2012: 5,194) and a 13.7% increase in average selling price.
Barratt said that the Help to Buy scheme continued to have a positive impact on demand for new homes, with 29% of total completions using the scheme.
Group chief executive Mark Clare said: "As a result of the continued recovery of the housing market across all regions and our £3.1bn investment in new land over the last four years, we have been able to increase materially the number of new homes being built and our profitability. Our disciplined approach to running the business is delivering significant improvements across all key financial metrics and with forward sales of over £1.2bn, we are well placed for FY14 and beyond."
In London and the southeast, where the market is more competitive, Barratt said it was focused on acquiring land from the public sector and sites that are larger or more technically complex.
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