By Lorraine Turner

LONDON (Reuters) - Housebuilder Persimmon said volumes and forward orders were ahead of 2008 comparisons and it expected no more writedowns of the value of its land holdings, boosting shares in the sector on Tuesday.

Britain's largest housebuilder by market value (PSN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) also said it had cut its debt by nearly half in the past 12 months to 495 million pounds at end-June and that prices were stabilising in some locations.

"Persimmon's update is raising hopes that the worst for the house building sector may be over," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, adding "a sense of perspective is still required" given the lack of mortgage availability.

His comments echoed those by the company's management which said it was seeing "historically low" cancellation rates.

Persimmon said completed house sales dropped 27 percent to 4,006 houses in the six months to end-June. Revenue fell 37 percent to 625 million pounds. In calendar 2008, Persimmon completions fell 36 percent while revenue fell 42 percent.

"We're encouraged by the market, it's still constrained by the mortgages but what we've seen is an increased volumes and lower level of cancellation rates," said chief executive Mike Farley.

Persimmon shares, which have doubled in value since a record low of 180 pence in December, were up 3.8 percent at 377 pence 9:40 a.m., while Bellway (BWY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 4.2 percent and Bovis Homes (BVS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was 4.1 percent higher.

Debt reduction is taking its toll on margins, which remain under pressure as the company focuses on positioning itself for a recovery, Farley said.