The average sale price of a new home has increased by almost 10% in the past six months, according to the latest market update by housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, in an indication of the strength of the upturn in the housing market

Taylor Wimpey said the average selling price for a house was 9% higher than the £163,000 seen in the first half of 2009, with net private reservations standing at 0.56 units per site per week compared with 0.4 in the last six months of 2008.

Overall the firm described its performance as “encouraging” and said it had not experienced the usual slowdown in sales over the summer months.

It also pointed to “continued stability” in its North American arm, which it said gave cause for “cautious optimism”.

Rival Redrow also provided an upbeat assessment of the market in a trading update on Wednesday.

Redrow said its sales in 2009 had been “remarkably stable”. It said: “Total net private reservations achieved in the first 18 weeks are 47% ahead of the same period last year and cancellation rates have returned to historic norms.”

It added that surveyors’ valuations were the biggest cause of cancellations.

It also announced a better than expected debt reduction by the end of 2009, to less than £800m.

Redrow and its rival Barratt both received a successful take-up of their rights issues, with 97.2% and 92.3% of the shares sold respectively.

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