Persimmon sees pick up in enquiries

The York-based group said visitor levels to its sites over the first 15 weeks of 2012 were up 10 per cent on last year.

Britain’s largest housebuilder by market value said its order book rose nine per cent to £1.24bn in the same period, as margins also rose. The NewBuy scheme - which allows lenders to provide 95 per cent mortgages on new build properties with guarantees from the Government and developers - boosted enquiries from potential buyers.

A recent survey showed that UK house prices declined at the slowest pace since June 2010 in March after a gentle increase in activity across the market so far this year.

“Whilst the availability of mortgage credit remains the key constraint on the UK housing market, we remain confident that Persimmon can operate successfully within existing market conditions,” the group said in a statement.

In February Persimmon cheered shareholders with a promise to return £1.9bn of surplus cash to them over the next decade.