LONDON (Reuters) - Housebuilder Persimmon reported a drop in first-half pretax profit but said selling prices had stabilised and it is trading ahead of expectations in the historically quieter summer period.

The York-based housebuilder, one of the largest by market value, posted a pretax profit of 9.8 million pounds for the six months to end-June, compared with 36.9 million last year.

This includes a one-off provision of 27.9 million pounds, it added.

Signs of recovery are emerging in the UK economy, with economists predicting a return to growth in the current quarter.

Mortgage approvals rose for a sixth consecutive month to 53,400 in July from 50,200 in June according to data from the Lending Panel, supplied by the Bank of England, signalling greater activity in the sector.

UK peer Bovis Homes (BVS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a pretax loss of 8.6 million pounds for the first half on Monday, but similar to Persimmon, confirmed signs of stabilisation in the UK housing market.

Nonetheless, housebuilders remain cautious on the outlook.

"Future volume increases and price movements will be dependent upon mortgage availability, job prospects and the health of the general economy" Persimmon (PSN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said in its statement.

(Reporting by Lorraine Turner)