House building figures continue to rise

The latest house building statistics have been published by Homes England, which show the number of homes being built in England has continued to rise in the first half of this financial year.

With a government rallying cry pushing the house building industry to create the homes Britain’s need, the fruits of these labours are being seen with a rise in the number of homes being built. Between 1st April and 30th September 2018, programmes managed by Homes England started building 15,766 homes on site and completed a total of 15,704 homes. These figures represent 15% and 31% increases on the first half of 2017-18.

An important part of the government’s priority building programme is the creation of affordable properties, and these homes represented 63% of the housing starts (9,909 homes) – a 42% increase on the same period last year – and 71% of the housing completions (11,091 homes), a 19% increase on the number of affordable homes completed in the first half of last year.

A total of 5,857 homes for market sale were started in the six months to 30 September 2018 – a 13% decrease on the same time last year – however, the number of market sale homes completed in this period was up 69% to 4,613, compared to 2,737 last year.

Of the affordable homes started, 5,714 were for Affordable Rent – a 26% increase on the 4,526 started in the same period last year. While a further 3,702 were for Intermediate Affordable Housing schemes (including Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy), representing a 71% increase on the same period last year. The remaining 493 affordable homes started were for Social Rent, an increase of 68% on the 294 started in the first six months of last year.

Of the affordable homes completed, 7,943 were for Affordable Rent – a ten per cent increase on the 7,219 completed in the same period last year. A further 2,841 were for Intermediate Affordable Housing schemes – an increase of 50% on the 1,900 completed in the same period last year. The remaining 307 affordable homes completed were for Social Rent, an increase of 76% on the 174 completed in the first six months of last year.

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “These latest figures show the overall number of homes being built continues to rise, reflecting the hard work being carried out by the housing industry to build better homes faster.

“However, while they are encouraging to see, we cannot be complacent. We know there is more work to be done to meet the Government’s ambition to deliver 300,000 new homes a year, so we will continue to intervene in the housing market and use our land, powers and influence to make homes happen.”

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