It’s something of a rarity to find a housebuilding company whose shares are hitting new 12-month highs but regional developer Springfield Properties (SPR:AIM) is flying high after its first-half trading update.

The firm, which builds new homes in evocative locations such as Elgin and Inverness rather than focusing on Edinburgh and Glasgow, said it had seen increasing homebuyer confidence since the turn of the year with net private reservations running at double its (admittedly conservative) forecasts of late.

Meanwhile, build-cost inflation continues to fall and is down to just 2.5%, which is easily recoverable in selling prices.

With one of the largest land banks in Scotland, 86% of which has planning permission, and over 3,000 acres of strategic land in reserve, the firm is well placed for this recovery in buyer demand.

Having cut the dividend due to the downturn in sales in 2022 and 2023, the firm aims to restart payments once its debt is down to reasonable levels.

From £93 million of net debt at the end of November last year, the company is targeting £55 million by the end of May and £40 million by May 2025.

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