HOUSEBUILDER Barratt has stepped up its operation in Scotland with plans to launch 17 sites over the coming year comprising 2480 homes, many of them within the commuter zone for booming oil capital Aberdeen.
The move suggests rising confidence in the Scottish housing market, which has taken longer than much of England to recover from the downturn.
In its last financial year Barratt sold 960 homes in Scotland.
Douglas McLeod, regional director of Barratt Scotland, said: "We are optimistic about 2013.
"Our existing sites are selling well and these 17 new sites are all in excellent locations, and we expect the homes to be sold quickly by buyers keen to move to a new home this year.
"Buyer confidence is steadily improving and we are seeing encouraging demand for our homes."
The company estimates its building programme will support hundreds of jobs in Scotland.
Last year, Mr McLeod told The Herald he perceived a three-speed housing market in Scotland with the north-east heading the pack.
This is reflected in its building priorities for 2013, which are weighted towards the north-east, with 450 homes to be built at four developments in Aberdeen: Den of Pitfodels, Evolution, Bridge of Don and Kings Court.
Another 600 are to be constructed at Inverurie.
The company also has five new sites coming on stream in and around Edinburgh, including 232 homes on the capital's Brunswick Road and 180 at Standhill Farm, Bathgate.
In the west of Scotland, hitherto the weakest part of the Scottish housing market, new developments are planned at Clydebank, Cumbernauld, Bellshill, Kilsyth, Coatbridge and Kilmarnock.
Barratt is among a number of housebuilders that signed up to the Scottish Government's MI New Home scheme, which is intended to make it easier for first-time buyers to secure a mortgage with only a small deposit.
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