* H1 pretax profit rose 80 pct to 15.3 million pounds
* Average private selling prices up 19 pct to 204,000 pounds
* Company says set to continue recovery
* Share price up, falls back from peak (Adds detail, quotes, share price reaction)
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - British housebuilder Redrow (Xetra: 906188 - news) Plc said its recovery looked set to continue after a strong start to the second half as it reported an 80 percent jump in first half profit, driven by a focus on higher priced family houses.
Redrow, one of the smaller London-listed housebuilders, delivered a pretax profit of 15 million pounds ($23.50 million) in the six months to end-December 2011. Thomson Reuters (Toronto: TRI.TO - news) data showed analysts expected the company to report a profit of 14 million pounds.
"While the outlook for the industry undoubtedly remains fragile there is increasing confidence in the housing market, including first time buyers," said chairman and founder Steve Morgan (KOSDAQ: 019990.KQ - news) , who returned to the company in 2009 after a boardroom coup.
"This should be helped further when the availability of 95 percent mortgages kicks in under the NewBuy scheme at the end of March," added Morgan, who also owns Premier League soccer club Wolves.
The NewBuy initiative will allow lenders to provide 95 percent mortgages on new build properties worth up to 500,000 pounds with little risk, as the government and developers will provide them with guarantees.
Redrow's revenue rose 8 percent to 233 million pounds, helped by increased private selling prices, which were up 19 percent in the first half to 204,000 pounds.
Morgan said he expected the company to continue along its "path of recovery".
The success of NewBuy will depend largely on pricing, Morgan said, while prospects for the housing market hinge on the British economy, which contracted in the fourth quarter of 2011.
"It's still tough, it's still very fragile but it just feels a bit better," Morgan told reporters on a conference call.
Redrow will also continue its push into London and the south east, after acquiring six sites in the capital.
Shares in Redrow were up 2.2 percent to 132.8 pence at 1048 GMT, having earlier risen by as much as 6 percent. The company's shares have risen 11 percent since the beginning of the year.
"It's a little better than it was but there's no real fireworks," said Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy who has a 'sell' recommendation and 85 pence target price on the stock.
"The news coming out of the sector is reasonably positive, but not dramatically so". ($1 = 0.6383 British pounds) (Reporting by Clare Kane, editing by Matt Scuffham and Elaine Hardcastle)
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