“For the industry to continue to increase supply, it’s vital that buyers are able to access sustainable and competitive mortgage finance,” the company’s trading update said.
“There have been some modest reductions in interest rates in recent weeks, but there remains limited availability of higher LTV mortgages for new build homes compared to the rest of the market,” it added.
The comment came in the housebuilder’s trading update for the period from 1 January to 2 May.
It reported 4,481 home completions in the period, up from 3,504 for the same weeks last year, and in 2019, 4,239.
The rise in completions reflected delivery in line with the original Help to Buy scheme and stamp duty holiday deadlines, it said.
David Thomas, chief executive at Barratt Homes (pictured), said: “We’ve seen strong demand for our high quality, energy efficient homes on well-designed developments.”
The company expected the number of completions for wholly-owned properties to hit 16,000 to 16,250, and for joint ventures, 650, for the year to 30 June 2021.
This represented “an outlook for the full-year modestly above previous expectations,” it said.
Barratt’s was fully forward sold for the year, at £3,696.3m, compared to last year’s £2,834.0m, and in 2019, £3,365.1m.
It built on average 321 homes each week in the trading period, ahead of planned output. In the year to date, the average was 304 a week.
The developer said: “Housing market fundamentals remain attractive, with strong demand for new homes across the country.”