Photo: ONS

Like its peers, Barratt Developments has benefited from a number of Government policies designed to get more first-time buyers on the property ladder. This includes the extension of Help To Buy until 2021, as well as the launch of a Help to Buy Isa to top up first-time buyers’ savings for a deposit.

Meanwhile the Starter Homes Scheme, announced in the Government’s Autumn Statement last year, aims to provide 200,000 new homes at a 20pc discount for first-time buyers over the next four years. In total, the Government wants to build 400,000 new homes by 2020.

Galliford Try, the FTSE 250-listed housebuilder, also said today that business had been strong in the six months to the end of December. The company said it expected revenue to be 5pc higher when it releases its first-half trading update next month. It sold 1,603 homes in the first half of its financial year, up from 1,529 in the same period in 2014.

Taylor Wimpey, the UK’s third-largest housebuilder, reported earlier this week that home completions in the whole of 2015 rose 7pc to 13,341, with average selling prices up 8pc to £230,000.