Housebuilding firm Taylor Wimpey has started the New Year in an “excellent position” following a post-referendum boost in house sales in Scotland.

In a trading update to stock market investors, the firm said it has a record order book and was benefiting from a “more sustainable housing market”.

The housebuilder, which delivered more than 1000 new homes to the Scottish market last year, said buying activity picked up in the autumn after the result of the vote was known.

This came after it found the market in Scotland had quietened over the summer ahead of the poll.

Taylor Wimpey said it is preparing for a bounce in Scottish sales this spring as more funding for Holyrood’s Help to Buy scheme becomes available.

Speaking after the group hailed a 6 per cent rise in completions last year, chief executive Pete Redfern said: “Scotland has been a little bit of an anomaly because Help for Buy has not been available on completions for a while.

“I think we will see a bit of a slowdown and then a bumper April and May as the next year’s funding becomes available.”

Taylor Wimpey said at the end of 2014 it had orders for 6,210 new homes, worth £1.4bn.

The Buckinghamshire-based firm said in a trading update that it built 12,454 homes last year, at an average selling price of £213,000 – 12 per cent higher than last year. Its order book also rose by 12 per cent, to £1.4 billion by the end of 2014.

“In the UK, we have an environment of sensible mortgage regulation and a reduced risk of UK interest rate increases in the near term,” Pete Redfern said.

“We are encouraged by the more balanced market conditions, with a lower rate of price growth, which should create a healthy and more sustainable housing market.”

He added: “As we enter 2015, we are encouraged by the more balanced market conditions, with a lower rate of price growth, which should create a healthy and more sustainable housing market. This is good news for homebuyers and underpins our confidence in developing and growing our business.”