MORE than a third of buyers at a major housing development in York are getting their first foot on the property ladder.

Persimmon is currently working on the next phase - phase five - of their 656-home Germany Beck development in Fulford.

So far about half or 382 homes have been sold with more than a third of purchases being first-time buyers.

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Luke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at Germany Beck in FulfordLuke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at Germany Beck in Fulford (Image: Supplied)  

The latest phase, which  features 43 new homes with a mix of two, three and four bed properties, has been visited recently by York Outer Labour MP Luke Charters.

Luke has previously visited Germany Beck many times during the election campaign earlier in the year and with the Prime Minister.

He said: "I am really pleased that Persimmon is headquartered in York Outer, and it was brilliant to visit Germany Beck again.

"To fund public services, we must get the economy growing again by building more houses.

"I joined the Labour Growth Group to ensure that building homes is a top priority for this government, and I am pleased to see the ambitious house building targets that have been set out.

"In York, Persimmon are playing their party in ensuring that we are on track to build the homes our country desperately needs." 

The MP went on to visit the firm's York HQ.

Luke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at the company's York HQLuke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at the company's York HQ (Image: Supplied)

Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, said: “It was great to discuss all things housing with Luke and show him round the next phase of Germany Beck.

“As a York based company, we’re always keen to work together for the benefit of our great city and the people living here.

“The new Government has rightly put housing high up their agenda and we’re ready to play our part to provide high quality new homes for young people, families and local homebuyers.” 

Earlier this month Persimmon said it will build about 10,500 homes this year, at the top end of previous forecasts.

The developer has also said it has already seen a pickup in activity over the summer amid Labour's planning reforms.

The housebuilder said it finished 4,445 new homes in the six months to June 30, up by five per cent against the same period last year.

It also marks a turnaround from the first quarter, when new home completions were down 10 per cent year-on-year.

As the Press reported, North Yorkshire will see its target increase from 1,361 to 4,232 homes a year, with York increasing from 1,020 to 1,251 homes a year.

Meanwhile, Persimmon said it had seen increased buyer confidence over the summer, which it expects to improve after the Bank of England cut the base interest rate in early August.

Since the start of July, its net private sales rate is 0.69, up 68 per cent on last year, giving the firm "good confidence" on completing 10,500 new homes this year.

Persimmon's average selling price was £263,288 for the first half.

Luke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at Germany Beck in FulfordLuke Charters and Scott Waters, managing director for Persimmon Yorkshire, at Germany Beck in Fulford (Image: Persimmon)