Yorkshire house sales 'bouncing back' for Barratt after Mini-Budget turmoil

They said that while sales were around half their normal level during October and December following the negative market reaction to the Mini-Budget which pushed up interest rates and mortgage costs considerably, they have bounced back since January.

Mr Ruthven said: “In Yorkshire we are bucking the trend this calendar year.

"We have come back really strongly.

"We have probably doubled our sales rate in the first two months of the calendar year from what we got in the last quarter.

"There is definitely a demand out there.”

He added: “The market softened and we have had to drive sales and the interest much harder.

"We are doing more part exchange and doing more incentives, offering more deposit contributions.

"It is just bringing people’s awareness there is an opportunity to get on the ladder they didn’t think existed.”

Mr Smith said house prices are proving relatively resilient despite mortgage rates increasing from the historic lows they had been at.

He said: “At a gross level, prices are holding. We are not seeing any major drop.

"Mortgage rates are actually becoming what should be normal.

"Lending at 1.83 per cent fixed for 10 years was ridiculous really.”

Mr Ruthven said the economic turmoil has led to adjustments to the company’s building plans, with the rate of construction slowed down as a consequence of falling demand.

“We have taken a sensible approach.

"We have tried to adjust our build programmes to reflect our sales rates.

"There is no point building homes that are going to stand empty.

"There’s been a slight adjustment across the year to the end of June.

"We pared back our numbers from October to December based on those sales rates. Build activity has slowed down a bit.

"However if sales continue as they are, those will pick up again.

“We are forecasting strong numbers for next year assuming the market stays with us.”