Bellway has recorded "another resilient performance" in what it describes as "challenging operating conditions", as customer confidence in the housing market continues to grow.

The housebuilder said that it had completed 7,654 homes in the year to 31 July for an average selling price of £308,000.

Despite these figures falling by 30% and 0.7% respectively, Bellway said this was slightly ahead of previous guidance.

The firm added that in this period, its housing revenue stood at £2.35bn, which is a drop of 30%, while its underlying operating margin is expected to be around 10%.

Bellway said that in the past year, customer confidence has improved, driven by a moderation of mortgage interest rates, consumer price inflation and an increase in wages.

As a result, its order book stands at 5,144 homes, an increase of 733 year-on-year, with a value of £1.41bn, which is an annual jump of 18.4%.

Group chief executive at Bellway, Jason Honeyman, said: "Bellway has delivered another resilient performance despite the continuation of challenging operating conditions during the year.

"The improving trading backdrop, combined with the strength of our outlet opening programme, has generated healthy growth in the year-end order book. As a result, we are in a strong position to return to growth in financial year 2025, as previously guided.

"We are encouraged by the new Government's plans to increase the supply of new homes across the country and welcome its plans to reform the planning system. Overall, the long-term housing market fundamentals are positive, and we remain confident that our robust balance sheet and operational strength, combined with the depth and quality of our land bank, will enable Bellway to successfully capitalise on future growth opportunities."

Head of markets at interactive investor, Richard Hunter, added: "Bellway echoed the positive noises of Persimmon yesterday as it revealed a quickly improving trading backdrop.

"The relative stability of mortgage rates has reignited some customer buying interest, and it seems that the pressure on rates amid a healthily competitive arena will be downwards. Despite a cut to the dividend in July, Bellway still yields 4.2%, which is of some attraction to income-seeking investors. The shares have risen by 20% over the last year, as compared to a gain of 8.3% for the wider FTSE 250, with the market consensus of the shares as a cautious buy reflecting the guarded optimism which is beginning to pervade the UK housing sector."

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