by Business Editor Trevor Sturgess

Tentative signs of a property upturn have been confirmed by Bovis, the Kent-based housebuilder which has seen a steep rise in reservations in the past four months.

While admitting that the market remained challenging, the company, which has its head office in New Ash Green, said it had secured 638 reservations, 71 per cent ahead of the same position in 2008.

But it pointed out that the level of trading was around 25 per cent down on the same period in 2007.

Competitive pricing had driven sales, with Bovis also achieving an improvement in cashflow and reducing debt to £47m.

It had made sale of built stock a priority, with 400 private reservations, and around 200 reservations for houses under construction. Stock had reduced from 1,000 homes at the start of the year to around 600, a cut of 40 per cent.

Although mortgage approvals increased, they were still 60 per cent a month down on the situation before the downturn.

In a statement, the company said: "The Group remains cautious in its view of the housing market as visibility remains weak, with a need for increased availability of mortgage finance, particularly for the first time buyers, being critical to market activity.

"The final volume outcome for the group in 2009 will largely depend on the strength of the market betwen now and the end of October."

James Thomas, of Jones Lang LaSalle, the property experts that manage Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne, said yesterday (7) that lower interest rates were encouraging more people back into the residential market.

Bovis results came just days after the Land Registry reported that house prices in the south east fell back 1.4 per cent in March (17.6 per cent down over the year) with the average price down to £187,357. The average house price in England and Wales was £152,895, down 16.2 per cent over the year.