BARRATT Homes says it has sold more than 600 homes in the west of Scotland across the past 12 months.

That is up from the 387 which it sold between the same 12-month period in 2012/13.

The company said the 617 home sales which took place between early May 2013 and the same month this year were worth almost £100 million. That was around 50 per cent greater than value of transactions in the prior year.

Barratt indicated the government-backed Help-to-Buy scheme has provided a major boost to sales with the support taken up by buyers in around 40 per cent of sales.

However the company, headed by chief executive Mark Clare, continued to use its part-exchange and warranty scheme to attract other buyers.

Among the areas it had seen great demand in were Clydebank and Uddingston.

The Grammar development in Uddingston has now sold out but Barratt is now working on a second phase of 76 homes which is likely to launch in the next few months.

Steve Mariner, sales and marketing director for Barratt West Scotland, said: "We've been really pleased by the increased rate of sales across our ­developments in Glasgow and the west.

"While Help to Buy has undoubtedly provided a huge stimulus to the housing market in Scotland, buyers have been attracted by the range of house types and developments available across the west of Scotland."

Barratt said it expects to build around 500 homes across 16 sites in the west of the country over 2014.

Mr Mariner said: "We expect that the market will continue to improve over the course of the year."