<p>Wimpey has reported an encouraging start to the year in its latest trading statement. “Sales rates to date have been well above those experienced in 2005 and we have seen a return to price increases in selected locations, particularly in the south,” it stated. Chief executive Peter Johnson is due to leave Wimpey in June, making way for UK chief executive Peter Redfern who will head up the group. He told Housebuilder that while there are positive signs that the market is picking up, house prices are likely to remain fairly static for the foreseeable future.<br><br>“The underlying undersupply is a reality – it’s not just a lobbying message,”he said. “The latest ODPM figures on projected household growth back this up, they are very key. If you need to be building 209,000 homes a year and you’re only building 160,000 you’re going to get a problem and rising prices. “But a couple of years ago, when I spoke at Housebuilder’s Housing Market Intelligence conference I discussed the fact that if there is big demand and undersupply, prices would rise to a market clearing level. That has happened, so prices are now constrained by affordability.<br><br>“I don’t think house prices will go up …