Upward curve in house building

Posted: 18 May 2006 11:20:32 GMT

House building in England during the first quarter of 2006 enjoyed a significant acceleration, with 37,600 houses completed.

This was up 12 per cent on the same period in 2005, while there was also a 19 per cent increase in housing starts to 48,200.

The new figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government also show that there were 184,700 housing starts in 2005/06 after a six per cent rise from 2004/05.

A five per cent increase in the number of completions to 163,300 has also been welcomed, with all regions seeing an increase in this respect other than London.

Interestingly, the north-west stands out in terms of the upward trend in new house starts and it also enjoyed strong increases in terms of completions. This may well be a measure of the growing reputation of both Manchester and Liverpool, with both cities attracting high number of workers.

While completions levelled in London, starts showed an upturn in the first quarter of the year, while the south-east also saw increases in starts.

House building activity is also high in the south-west, with a "sharp increase" in the number of starts.

The government is looking to boost affordable housing in the UK because of concerns for the plight of first-time buyers and so the new data will be seen as evidence of improvement.


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