Low mortgage costs helped Bellway to a record number of house sales over the last year.

The housebuilder said it sold 7,752 houses in the year to the end of July – an increase of over 13 per cent on the 6,851 sold in 2014 and a record number for the group.

Average selling prices rose by 5 per cent to about £224,000, helping the firm to post an 18 per cent rise in revenues to around £1.73 million. Shares in the group, which are up 24 per cent in the year to date, were 5p higher at 2,460p in afternoon trading.

The Newcastle-based group, which has a major foothold in the Scottish market, said it remains confident that demand for new homes can withstand an expected interest rate increase. The announcement comes after the Bank of England dampened expectations of a rate rise as soon as this year, though it is still expected to increase the cost of borrowing early in 2016.

Rates have remained at 0.5 per cent for more than six years, helping to drive a rebound in the housebuilding sector, but the sustained economic recovery has heightened expectations that they will need to go up in the coming months.

Bellway said: “Demand for new homes has remained strong throughout the year, supported by more widely available and increasingly competitive mortgage finance.

“The Bank of England base rate remains at a historic low and notwithstanding the possibility of an interest rate rise, new homes remain a very attractive and affordable option for purchasers.”

Chief executive Ted Ayres told investors: “The group has continued to trade well, against a backdrop of favourable market conditions, delivering a record number of legal completions, whilst further adding to an already strong forward order book.

“We have made a substantial investment in attractive land opportunities and the group has the balance sheet and operational capability to invest further, thereby enabling Bellway to continue delivering additional and much needed new homes.”

The group opened its 17th division this month, in Kent, adding to its new office in the south west of England, which opened in February.

It added: “These new divisions further enhance the group’s capacity to deliver new homes in areas of high demand.”