Housing market is 'buoyant,' if the price is right, says Principality

Principality says they reflect a strong performance in an increasingly "crowded market".

The building society has also confirmed it is to launch a bilingual online mortgage application service.

The move is part of a three-year change programme which saw half-year profits leap by almost to fifth to nearly �10m.

The Cardiff-based organisation, Wales' biggest building society, said its personal loans business, launched in February, had exceeded expectations.

Chief executive Peter Griffiths said the market remained buoyant provided people sold at "sensible prices".

"We are a Welsh building society when all said and done, and if we can differentiate ourselves, clearly Welshness is a very strong place to start Peter Griffiths, chief executive

These results follow the re-launch of the Principality image on St David's Day (1 March), against strong competition from rival lenders and a slowing housing market.

Nonetheless, pre-tax profits rose - year on year - by 18%, to �9.7m.

The groups assets have risen to �4.2bn, including an 11.39% rise in mortgage balances �3,406.4m.

Mr Griffiths, said the building society was on course to deliver its commitments but would need to continue to develop its services to meet the changing needs of customers.

The housing market is back to 'traditional' look, says the society

He said: "(We have) diversified from our main core business, where we're probably in the most competitive market that we've seen for over a decade, and I think that strategy is proving to be the correct one.

"The core business, the traditional mutual building society savings and mortgages business is now a very difficult business to be in.

"You've got very, very small margins and you've got an increasingly large cost of regulation."

'Postal account'

The added that the building society was now in a position to invest in some of technology-based services which other rivals were already offering.

These included the English-Welsh mortgage application service, which would go live later this year.

"We are a Welsh building society when all said and done, and if we can differentiate ourselves, clearly Welshness is a very strong place to start. So we will be doing bilingual applications on line."

He said: "We have also been reviewing our savings range and will be launching a new postal account in October."

The Principality is the 12th largest building society in the UK, with more branches in Wales than any other building society.

The Welsh Assembly Government provided regional selective assistance support for the society to create its own finance company.