You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
New build starts fall 9% but completions rise
Starts of new build housing dropped 9% year-on-year in the final quarter of 2018/19, official statistics show.
From January to March, an estimated 36,630 new homes were started across England, down from 40,300 for the same period last year.
However, completions rose 14% to 42,870.
Over the whole of 2018/19, construction started on 162,270 homes, up 1% on 2017/18, while completions climbed 6% to 169,770.
Housing association starts over the quarter fell very slightly from 5,860 to 5,810, compared with the same period for the previous year, while completions increased 10% to 6,830.
Local authorities started 380 homes in the quarter, up from 250 a year ago. They completed 550 homes, down from 630 in January to March 2018.
READ MORE
Overall local authority starts for 2018/19 were 2,460 – the highest level since 1990/91.
Housing associations made 25,070 starts over the year, nudging up 1% from 24,730 in 2017/18.
The figures, released yesterday, are based on building control data.
The government does not regard them as the comprehensive measure of housing supply and prefers to use “net additional dwellings” statistics, which are released in November and include other means of delivery, such as conversions.
Last year’s net additions figures showed that 222,000 homes were delivered in England in 2017/18.
Ministers have set a target to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
Figures for energy performance certificates lodged for new homes, which are generally accurate to within around 3%, indicate that approximately 245,000 new homes have been delivered in 2018/19.
Housing minister Kit Malthouse has said he believes nearly 240,000 were built in 2018/19, which would represent the highest level for 30 years.
