The UK's largest housebuilder Persimmon said visitor levels to site continue to be encouraging with first time buyer visitors rising 35% since 1 July from the same period last year.
"Customers are keen to participate in the Government sponsored FirstBuy shared equity scheme introduced to the market on 1 July 2011," the housebuilder explained.
Persimmon said it is now taking good levels of reservations using this incentive, designed to offer more affordable housing compared to the cost of an equivalent rented property.
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"This is providing welcome relief for first time buyers from the otherwise constrained mortgage market place," it added.
Overall prices remain firm and cancellation rates continue to run at historically low levels of around 18%, Persimmon. "These represent good indications of the current stability in the housing market," the group noted.
Weekly private sales rates from the start of September have been 19% higher than for the same period last year.
However due to an expected pick-up in first time buyer activity, the group now expects its average selling price for the full year of 2011 to be slightly lower than the £169,000 of last year.
Currently the average price of a home is £190,080 compared to £188,329 in the same half of 2010.
Persimmon said it is now fully sold up for this year and have around £460m sales already reserved beyond 2011, up 7% from this time last year.
"We remain confident of delivering further profit margin improvement in the second half of the year building upon the underlying operating profit margin of 9% for the first six months to 30 June 2011," it said.
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