New housing starts in England reach greatest level since 2008
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