In its interim management statement, covering the period 1 July to 9 November, the group said its sales rate of 0.63 net private reservations per active site per week (excluding joint ventures) was strong.
The rate of sales meant it was on track to deliver its target of 15,000 completions, with an extra 700 completions from joint ventures, in 2015.
The sales rate had slowed compared to the previous year, when it was 0.71, but this was considered to be ‘exceptionally high’ because of the launch of Help to Buy in April 2013.
In its statement the group said: “Market conditions remain robust, with high levels of customer interest and good demand across all regions of the country.
“We are seeing improvements in mortgage availability and the range of products on offer as competition increases. This has resulted in some of the lowest mortgage rates we have seen for some time.”
Private forward sales (excluding joint ventures) grew by 11.9% on the previous year to £1,261.6m from £1,127.4m. The growth in sales reflected an increase of 7% in plots sold from 4,845 this year compared to 4,514 plots in the same period last year. Of this, 4,693 plots are due for completion in FY15.
Mark Clare, group chief executive, said: “We are on track to see another significant improvement in performance by continuing to focus on delivering high quality, well designed homes in places where people want to live.”
