Raising standards to protect homeowners
House building reaches highest level since July 2008
Applications to NHBC to start new homes have reached the highest point in almost a year.
NHBC latest statistics show they received 8,305 applications in June 2009 from builders to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors, the greatest number since July 2008, when 9,530 applications were received.
NHBC statistics for the three months to the end of June 2009 also revealed the fourth successive rolling quarter-on-quarter rise in applications to start new homes. 21,637 applications were received by NHBC to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors during the three months - a 12 per cent increase on the previous rolling quarter March to May 2009 (19,286). Yet there is still a significant fluctuation in the number of applications across the UK, with figures for some regions, including Greater London and Merseyside, more than 50 per cent lower than a year ago.
Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC Chief Executive, said: "Our figures show a significant improvement on the all-time low of December 2008 (4,259) as there has been a steady increase of applications in the first half of the year. While this is encouraging in the short-term, it is important to point out that house-building output is still greatly reduced compared to previous years.
"There needs to be a recovery in demand before housebuilders can increase the number of applications to build new homes to the levels that the Government's targets demand. Improving liquidity in the mortgage market and, in particular, the relaxation of strict lending terms that are currently applied to many would-be buyers, is a key step to attracting buyers back in to the market and ensuring a sustainable recovery."
NHBC statistics for the three months to the end of June 2009 also show:
- Of the 21,637 applications to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors during the three months to the end of June, 13,328 were related to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations) - 36 per cent lower than the same three-month period a year ago (20,973).
- Public sector figures for the three months to the end of June totalled 8,309 - 8 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (9,018).
- New build completions in the combined private and public sectors in the UK totalled 33,573 in the three months to the end of June 2009 - 25 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (44,548).
- The average number of daily sales of new homes in the UK from April to June 2009 was 321 - 29 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (454).
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 April to June 2009 by region /country:
Region |
April to June 2009 |
April to June 2008 |
Percentage Increase / (-) Decrease |
England - Regions |
|
|
|
North East |
605 |
1,061 |
-43% |
North West |
1,269 |
1,669 |
-24% |
Merseyside |
241 |
640 |
-62% |
Yorkshire & the Humber |
1,153 |
1,944 |
-41% |
West Midlands |
1,484 |
1,896 |
-22% |
East Midlands |
1,836 |
1,809 |
1% |
Eastern |
2,572 |
3,270 |
-21% |
South West |
3,075 |
3,028 |
2% |
Greater London |
2,030 |
4,929 |
-59% |
South East |
4,136 |
4,538 |
-9% |
Totals for England |
18,401 |
24,784 |
-26% |
Scotland - Councils |
1,735 |
3,043 |
-43% |
Wales - Unitary Authorities |
591 |
1,051 |
-44% |
Northern Ireland - Counties |
875 |
1,050 |
-17% |
Isle of Man |
35 |
63 |
-44% |
Totals for UK |
21,637 |
29,991 |
-28% |
News Date: 22/07/09