Britain’s biggest house builder Barratt remains confident in its outlook for the full year after it managed to lift completions by 9.4 per cent to 7,626 homes in the first half.

The firm said the rise kept it on course to lift overall new homes output to 16,750 units by its year-end in June.

During the first half ended December 31, Barratt managed to increase the private average selling prices by 11.0 per cent to circa £281,000 benefiting from both mix and underlying selling price inflation.

Operating from an average of 386 active sites during the first half in line with last year, Barratt saw a dip in new site openings but launched 63 new developments in the first half compared to 96 last year.

David Thomas, chief executive, said: “We have seen an excellent first half performance, increasing our completions by 9 per cent whilst maintaining our industry leading quality.

“We continue to invest for the future, approving the purchase of £559m of land and investing in training and recruitment programmes to help address the need for additional skilled labour.

He added: “Overall, market conditions are good and we remain confident in our outlook for the full year as we continue to execute our strategies: aimed at ensuring disciplined growth, improving key financial metrics through a focus on efficiency and the continued delivery of attractive cash returns.”

He said that Barratt continued to benefit from a good level of consumer demand across all regions, with mortgage availability and affordability remaining attractive as competition amongst lenders continues.

Fellow housebuilders Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey have recently reported strong growth, boosted by increased house sales at higher prices.