"This year the market has returned to its normal pattern. This resulted in a strong market for the first four months of the year followed by a quieter summer period," says Geoffrey Maddrell, chairman. "We are pleased to be able to report that we have experienced some uplift in the autumn market, although customers are generally taking longer to commit."

A raft of recent surveys have pointed to a slowing property market. Analysts Hometrack says house prices fell by 0.6% in October--the fifth consecutive monthly drop and the National Association of Estate Agents says values fell 1.6% in September, marking a fourth month of declines.

Westbury says a damaging rate in the number of buyers canceling their new homes over the summer, at around 24%, had slowed to under 20%. This, however, was still above the normal rate of around 15%.

The company remained "convinced of the sustainability of the UK housing market in the longer term". It also announced that housing sales had remained static compared with the same period last year as had average house prices.

Profits after tax were euro 56.7 million ($72.5 million) in the half-year to the end of August compared to euro 45.9 million ($58.8 million) a year earlier. The company also reduced its debt exposure.

Profits have surged in the homebuilder sector in recent years thanks to a doubling in house prices since 1999. But it remains one of the cheapest sectors on the stock market as investors remain wary that the industry will be able to cope with a slowdown. Their shares crashed after the last property boom and bust in the early 90s.