The City will be looking for signs of life in the housing market and any evidence that first time buyers are re-entering the market in any numbers when Persimmon provides an update on January 9.

In Persimmon's last interim management statement, the group reported that visits from first-time buyers between July 1 and November 7 were 35% up on a year ago. However, with the mortgage market still restricted and concerns persisting over the ability of first time buyers to find a mortgage, sales over this period were running just 4% ahead of the preceding period.So analysts will be looking for any indications that initiatives such as the Government sponsored FirstBuy shared equity scheme are turning visits into sales over the more recent period.

With turnover of £1,570 million in 2010 (2009: £1,421 million), Persimmon was the third biggest housebuilder gauged by revenue - behind Barratt in first place and Taylor Wimpey in second. However, in terms of pre-exceptional profit Persimmon's last annual figures show a total of £124.1 million (2009: £53.2 million), making the company the most profitable British housebuilder.