Housebuilder Bellway sees completions up as consumer confidence looks good for 2012

Housebuilder Bellway expects first-half completions to be 5 percent higher than last year due to a hike in the number of trading outlets and flagged consumer confidence as the key factor to watch next year.

The fourth-largest UK housebuilder by market value said reservation rates rose 14 percent in the four months to end-November while the average selling price increased 7 percent due to a shift towards more traditional family homes.

Bellway said it welcomed recent moves by the government to kickstart the moribund housing market through a raft of measures such as a mortgage guarantee scheme but added that consumer confidence would be the biggest factor to watch next year.

"Whilst the group welcomes such initiatives, the outcome for the full year will be dependent primarily upon consumer confidence, especially during the spring selling season," said the company ahead of today's general meeting.

Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne announced last week plans to help 100,000 struggling young families to buy newly built homes and provide a £400 million fund to help construction firms kick-start projects.

House prices edged up in November, beating expectations despite a weak economy, but activity remains subdued and prices are likely to dip in the next 12 months, mortgage lender Nationwide said last week.

Bellway said it had secured 73 percent sales for this financial year while its order book stood at £458 million compared with £440 million at the same time last year.

It also announced the renewal of its £150 million bi-lateral banking facility with no significant change to banking covenants.

The Newcastle-based company hiked its dividend by nearly a third in October after posting a 51 percent rise in full-year profit.