Housebuilders Barratt and Bovis say that the better market conditions seen at the start of the year are continuing. <br> <br> Reporting to the City for the period January 1 to May 8 2011, Mark Clare, Barratt’s group chief executive, said that the market was encouraging and the firm was set to achieve a “substantial” improvement in operating profit in the second half of the financial year. <br> <br> Bovis, reporting for the same time period, said that visitor numbers for the year to date were more than 20% ahead of the previous year. Private net reservations are up 12% to 566, against last year. <br> <br> The company said it was “progressing well” with its growth strategy to increase volumes. It has 67 new sales outlets for the year to date and expects to launch a further 23 this year.<br> <br>