* Chairman says terms agreed on first new sites in a year
* Does not rule out rights issue to fund acquisitions
* No further writedowns, assuming market stability
* Full-year loss of 44.2 mln sterling better than expected
* Shares down 0.2 percent (Adds chairman comment, detail, shares)
By John Bowker
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - British housebuilder Redrow is on the hunt for new land for the first time in over a year and does not foresee further writedowns, showing further signs the housing market has stabilised.
Chairman and founder Steve Morgan, who came out of nearly 10 years of retirement in March to turn the company around, told reporters the group was ready to rebuild its land bank to seek higher margins following the market downturn.
"We have agreed terms on a number of sites that are now at the legal stage ... the company has not bought any land for a year," he said on Thursday, after Redrow reported a better-than-expected full year loss of 44.2 million pounds ($73.14 million).
Morgan also said the company has not ruled out joining rivals in raising cash, possibly via a rights issue, to fund a buying spree. Rival Galliford Try on Thursday announced a rights issue to raise 125.6 million to fund its own land buying strategy, while Bovis Homes placed shares to raise 60 million pounds.
Redrow shares were off slightly, down 0.2 percent at 244 pence by 0752 GMT, while Galliford was down 8 percent.
Morgan said he would focus on family housing rather than apartments, but the market would be competitive. "We'll be out there scrapping, and we are not bad scrappers," he said.
Redrow posted a pretax loss before exceptionals of 44.2 million pounds for the year to end June, compared to a 65.5 million profit in 2008.
Analysts were expecting a loss of just under 50 million pounds, according to Reuters estimates. The pretax loss from continuing operations was 141 million pounds, down from 194 million the year before.
Housebuilders have suffered a torrid year as prices slumped by around a quarter from peak levels.
Redrow has been forced to write off a total of 319 million pounds during the period, although Morgan said that assuming the market remained stable, the process was at an end.
Morgan owns just under 30 percent of Redrow, but ruled out a bid to take the 35-year old company private. (Reporting by John Bowker. Editing by Victoria Bryan and Rupert Winchester)