After closing 2013 on a high, as seen in the LSL New Build Index, the confidence in the new build market has continued this year.
But with talk of sooner-than-expected rate hikes and perennial concerns over supply, will we see out 2014 in the same optimistic mood with which we have welcomed it in?
James McAuley, director of LSL Land & New Homes, www.lsllandandnewhomes.co.uk, says: "With positive results coming through from some of the UK's well-known housebuilders, it's clear that the mood is upbeat across the industry and, as the Index shows, this is translating into some healthy price increases. This can be particularly seen in the South and the East Midlands, where increases of more than 5% are being recorded."
Nationally, the overall picture is positive. Price rises were seen across all tenures in a number of areas, while London, predictably, saw the largest single tenure increase - 8.8% in flats. Another notable figure, for the wrong reasons, was terrace homes in Scotland, where prices fell 11.5%.
Keith Osborne, editor of Whathouse.co.uk, says: "These end-of-year figures show a broadly positive picture across the country. The next 12 months will demonstrate clearly the impact of Help to Buy across Britain and the feedback I've had from a range of senior industry figures is that they are expecting an even better year than 2013. While the figures from Scotland are notably down over the year, they are likely to see an improvement in 2014 to reflect the effect of Help to Buy, the initial success of which the Scottish government hailed at the beginning of this year.
However, both McAuley and Osborne do add a note of caution, warning that possible supply-side issues could hamper the recovery.
"Help to Buy has clearly had a role to play in this optimism but for this to continue industrywide and to help address the woeful shortage of housing stock, it's important that the small to medium developers are supported more widely," adds McAuley. "Labour's pledge to do this, therefore, has to be applauded, and the need for land and development encouraged - at whatever scale - to improve the outlook even further.
"In tandem with this there must also be renewed focus on the availability of a skilled workforce and materials, which, as reported in RICS' recent Construction Market Survey, are both experiencing shortages. Without these it could be a different picture in the months to come. Action therefore must be taken to address this, whether through government intervention or at a more local level."
Osborne concludes: "The increasing likelihood of higher interest rates will be a worry for some, and most observers would agree that only with the immediate improvement of land supply and the elimination of onerous planning restrictions can the industry start to achieve the volume of housebuilding that everyone, regardless of political colour, agrees our country needs."