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Halt on house-building has ?probably run its course"

The number of new properties being built has risen by 63% during the second quarter according to new figures, continuing the signs of recovery in the house building industry.

In England 29,980 new homes-builds began during the quarter, according to Communities and Local Government (CLG), 9% lower than the same period last year.

Senior economist at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Brigid O’Leary, said: “This provides further evidence that the dramatic scaling back in house building activity since the onset of the credit crunch has probably run its course.

“A second consecutive increase in housing-starts in the private sector seemed likely after, earlier in the year, some major house builders noted that their inventory was being run down and that they were considering restarting some mothballed projects.”

Private sector developers saw a rise of 73% in house starts when compared to the previous quarter, and there was also a 34% rise in properties being built by social landlords.

A CLG spokesperson said: “The statistics are obviously good news for both the construction industry and those looking to buy a home.

“But we are not complacent. There is still a lot more to do, which is why we recently announced an extra £1.5bn investment on affordable housing, to build an extra 20,000 new affordable and social homes as well as 10,000 market properties.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .