The latest Government figures reveal that housing starts in England have reached their greatest level since 2008.
During the year to June 2017, 164,960 new builds were started – a 13% increase year-on-year. In addition, completions increased by 11% to £153,330.
Housing Market
Private starts increased by 16% during the period to hit 139,140, whilst housing association starts fell slightly by 2% to stand at 24,220.
In terms of completions during the year to June, these increased by 12% to reach 125,550. For housing associations, completions rose by 6% to hit 26,170.
Quarterly figures show some declines, with overall new build starts falling by 3% to 41,180 during June as opposed to March 2017. June quarter completions were 2% higher at 40,310.
Private starts quarter-on-quarter were stable at 35,570, while starts for housing associations dropped by 19% to reach 5,280.
New housing starts in England reach greatest level since 2008
Healthy
Murray Smith, MD of residential property sales and development consultancy SiteSales, noted: ‘The statistics reflect what we knew, in that completions on projects commenced pre- Brexit would be healthy, while the post-vote hiatus in the industry and an uncertain market has withheld starts in recent quarters.’
Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma also said: ‘It’s vital we maintain this momentum to deliver more quality homes in the places that people want to live. Our housing white paper set out an ambitious package of long-term reforms to do just that.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/english-housing-starts-reach-highest-level-since-2008.html