Housing starts in England fall in Q2

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by Kay Murchie

According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the number of new housing starts in England has fallen significantly in the second quarter of 2008.

During the period April to June, 33,400 new homes were started which represents a 19% fall on the same period of 2007.

However, the data, which was compiled by the Office for National Statistics, show that construction rose 2% when compared with the first quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, housing completions in England also fell by 13% during the second quarter compared with the same period of June 2007.

The figures are below the targets set by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Government set a target of building two million new properties by 2016, with a further one million carbon neutral properties by 2020.

A report published in June by the Construction Products Association revealed that there has been a 27% fall in new housing starts in the UK this year. The figure of 147,000 new housing starts is the lowest since 1945.

Private sector housing starts are forecast to be down by 30% to the lowest level since 1992.

Michael Ankers, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, has stated that the impact on the new build housing market has been more severe than was anticipated. To be starting fewer new homes than at any time over the last 60 years illustrates the scale of the problem now faced.