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New housing starts rise by 12%, official figures show
The number of new homes started in the second quarter of 2017/18 was up 12% on the previous year, latest figures from the government have found.
Quarterly new build dwellings data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) shows that the number of homes started in the three months up to and including September had hit 44,740, a 12% increase from the 39,810 starts in the same period last year.
The figures also represent a quarter-on-quarter rise, with the 44,740 starts 12% higher than the 39,980 housing starts recorded for the first quarter of 2018/19.
The statistics come from the MHCLG’s new build dwellings quarterly data, the government’s secondary indicator for housing supply behind its annual net additional dwellings data.
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The new build dwellings data is treated with caution by housing experts and has previously come under criticism for routinely under reporting overall output and the contribution of housing associations to housing supply.
According to the figures, the number of starts by housing associations was 6,350 for the period, slightly down from last year’s figure of 6,430.
The number of local authority starts was recorded at 380 for the three-month period, down more than 50% on the 830 starts for the same period last year.
Earlier this week, the National Housing Federation published its quarterly supply survey for the three months up to and including September 2018, seen as the most authoritative statement on the housing association’s output.
The survey which accounts for 87% of all housing association stock, found that the associations had begun 10,511 homes in the period up 7% when compared with the second quarter of 2017/18.
The MHCLG figures for starts in the second quarter are now 161% above the trough in the second quarter up to March 2009, and 9% below the pre-crash peak of the three months up to March 2007.
According to the MHCLG, the starts in the second quarter for the year took the number of homes built in the 12-month period to September 2018 to 166,400 – the highest for a 12-month period up to September in the last decade.
Housing secretary James Brokenshire said: “Builders have started construction on more homes than at any point in the past decade, marking real progress made towards hitting our ambition of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
“These figures show further encouraging progress towards our commitment to deliver a housing market that works for everyone while boosting the supply of new homes across the country.”
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