* Galliford Try sees year results meeting expectations
* Redrow to restart construction on some sites
* Property investment company planning London flotation
* Reversal in house price decline seen unlikely in 2009
(Recasts, adds Redrow, Max Property, analysts, shares)
By Victoria Bryan
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Britain's housebuilders gave cautious support on Tuesday to hopes that the slump in the battered housing market was easing, though they said it was too early to call a recovery. The property market in the UK has been hit hard by the lack of available credit, while consumer sentiment has taken a pounding from economic recession and rising unemployment.
Construction and housebuilding firm Galliford Try said in a statement on Tuesday it was currently selling houses at a similar rate to that seen a year ago and that buyers were paying prices on a par with those seen in the autumn.
"We are encouraged by the way in which the increased activity in the market since the New Year has been maintained."
It expects full-year results to meet expectations and said it was operating well within banking covenants.
Galliford Try is also on the lookout for opportunities to buy up land on the cheap, after acquiring the residential development assets of Wright (Hull) Ltd for 7 million pounds in cash on Monday.
Rival Redrow said it would start building on sites where work had been halted and begin construction on new sites, following encouraging sales activity since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, in a boost for London's junior AIM stock market, where new listings have dried up and companies have delisted in droves to conserve cash, newly formed property investment company Max Power said it was planning a flotation to exploit the weakness of the property market.
A survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors published Tuesday also showed house prices in England and Wales fell at their slowest pace in 15 months in the three months to April.
Shares in Redrow were up almost 6 percent at 195 pence at 1224 GMT, while rivals Bovis Homes, Barratt and Persimmon also rose.
"All of the housebuilders are up because the RICS annoucement was deemed good today. (Returning CEO) Steve Morgan is starting to stamp his mark on Redrow. That's what I liked about it," said one equities analyst.
Shares in Galliford Try, however, were down 7 percent at 49.75 pence, coming off a rally that has seen them gain 69 percent since the start of the year.
Broker Panmure Gordon said it was staying cautious on Galliford Try.
"The Galliford Try share price has enjoyed a very strong run in the last few months. With no new news, we stay on the cautious track for now," analyst Andy Brown wrote in a note.
GREEN SHOOTS CAUTION
While some signs of optimism emerge, few seem willing to call a recovery in the market, where prices have fallen to 2004 levels since reaching a peak in August 2007.
Redrow described pricing as fragile and said it expected the market would remain tough for some time.
"As a consequence of the economic environment and continued restrictions on mortgage availability, the market is likely to remain challenging into 2010," the company said.
KBC Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy said although activity levels were rising, he did not believe they would improve enough to stop house prices falling in 2009.
"It's a buyers' market still, so prices will continue to fall," he said, adding that prices would not improve until mortgage lending levels increased sharply.
"Sustaining current levels of activity beyond the spring selling season will be required to confirm an underlying improvement in the general market although we are cautiously optimistic at this point," said Galliford Try. (Additional reporting by Paul Hoskins, Sinead Cruise and Lorraine Turner, editing by Will Waterman)