Sacyr property arm house sales up 23 pct in H1

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spanish construction firm Sacyr Vallehermoso (SVO.MC) said on Wednesday its Vallehermoso property arm completed the sale of 1,639 homes in the first six months of this year, 22.6 percent more than a year earlier.

Vallehermoso's income from home sales rose 21.4 percent during the period to a total of 438 million euros ($689 million) and it more than doubled land sales to 141.2 million euros.

Vallehermoso's total income rose 2.5 percent in the first half to 531.2 million euros, the company said.

The figures come as Spanish construction companies and developers battle the end of the country's near decade-long housing boom as they struggle to sell homes and repay debts.

Vallehermoso accounted for 15 percent of group sales in the first quarter of 2008. (Reporting by Sarah Morris, editing by Will Waterman)