Raising standards to protect homeowners
Further Rise in House Build Volumes Points to Mild Recovery
NHBC's latest statistics show the third successive rolling quarter-on-quarter rise in the number of applications from builders to start new homes in the UK, providing further evidence of a mild recovery in house-building production.
19,286 applications were received by NHBC from the combined private and public sectors in the three months to the end of May 2009 - eight per cent higher compared to the previous rolling quarter February to April 2009 (17,859) and 19 per cent higher than January to March this year (16,232).
Although NHBC figures show that house-building activity is still extremely low compared to the same three month period a year ago, the drop in applications to build is becoming less pronounced. NHBC figures for the three months to the end of May show a 43% reduction in the number of applications compared to the same period a year ago, while in the three months to the end of March and April 2009, the year-on-year drop in applications was 57% and 53% respectively.
Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC Chief Executive, said: "NHBC's latest figures point to further improvements in house-building production, albeit from an extremely low base.
"Any recovery is likely to be fragile in the short term and volumes in the next few months will be key in determining if this recovery is sustainable. The significance of these figures is that they suggest we may now have passed the lowest point in housing production for the current cycle."
NHBC statistics for the three months to the end of May 2009 also revealed:
- Of the 19,286 applications to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors during the three months to the end of May, 11,062 were related to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations) - 56% lower than the same three-month period a year ago (24,917).
- Public sector figures for the three months to the end of May totalled 8,224 - 10% lower than the same period a year ago (9,165).
- New build completions in the combined private and public sectors in the UK totalled 30,104 in the three months to the end of May 2009 - 25% lower than the same period a year ago (40,271).
- The average number of daily sales of new homes in the UK from March to May 2009 was 332 - 26% lower than the same period a year ago (452).
NHBC publishes a quarterly booklet of its new house-building statistics - to subscribe visit www.nhbc.co.uk
Ends
Note to editors:
(i) Full regional breakdown of new homes registered March to May 2009 by region/country:
Region |
March to May 2009 |
March to May 2008 |
Percentage Increase / (-) Decrease |
England - Regions |
|
|
|
North East |
762 |
1,023 |
-26% |
North West |
1,166 |
2,066 |
-44% |
Merseyside |
277 |
635 |
-56% |
Yorkshire & the Humber |
1,000 |
2,300 |
-57% |
West Midlands |
1,162 |
2,263 |
-49% |
East Midlands |
1,502 |
2,557 |
-41% |
Eastern |
2,227 |
3,798 |
-41% |
South West |
2,491 |
3,036 |
-18% |
Greater London |
1,824 |
4,754 |
-62% |
South East |
3,567 |
5,595 |
-36% |
Totals for England |
15,978 |
28,027 |
-43% |
Scotland - Councils |
1,806 |
3,583 |
-50% |
Wales - Unitary Authorities |
740 |
1,396 |
-47% |
Northern Ireland - Counties |
734 |
1,012 |
-27% |
Isle of Man |
28 |
64 |
-56% |
Totals for UK |
19,286 |
34,082 |
-43% |
NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK. It was established more than 73 years ago as a non-profit distributing company. NHBC's primary purpose is to help raise standards to protect homeowners. NHBC's ten-year 'Buildmark' warranty covers more than 80% of new homes built in the UK and currently protects approximately 1.7 million homes.
News Date: 16/06/09