Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) said it had a “strong” start to the new financial year on Wednesday, but its share price fell as investors failed to be impressed by the figures.

Total forward sales in the first quarter rose 8.4 per cent on last year to £2.87 billion, with “affordable” home forward sales rose 12.1 per cent to £759.2 million. The company were also boosted by an increase in house prices, taking the average selling price of Barratt homes up by 6 per cent to £275,200, from £259,700 last year.

Chief executive David Thomas said of the results: “We have started the financial year strongly with a good sales rate, driven by customer demand for new homes, and supported by an attractive lending environment.

“We remain committed to quality, build excellence and market leading customer service and are working hard to increase the supply of houses across the UK.

“We remain focused on driving operational improvements through the business and we continue to be confident in delivering a good performance in the 2018 financial year.”

Despite the strong figures shares in Barratt Developments plunged at market open, before recovering to trade down just 0.85 percent at 623.63 (1217GMT).