HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments yesterday said customer demand for homes and prices continued to recover as it reported a 27 per cent increase in half-year orders.

But the firm said mortgage availability continued to be constrained, adding that it was focused on its strategy of selling fewer flats to drive ‘‘significant improvement in operating margin’’.

Barratt hopes the strategy will lift its average selling price by up to ten per cent.

Barratt posted a narrower pre-tax loss of £178.4m in the six months to December 31.