Q3 2002 new house-building statistics UK 14/02/06
In Great Britain the average anticipated selling price of new homes started during the third quarter of 2002 increased by eight per cent on the same period in 2001. There was bad news for first time buyers who found their ability to buy fell in the third quarter. The figures are published in NHBC's (National House-Building Council) New House-Building Statistics publication for quarter three 2002.
The average anticipated selling price of new homes (started by NHBC registered builders) was £157,000 during the third quarter of 2002, an eight per cent increase on quarter three 2001 (£146,000). Based on actual selling prices, the proportion of homes priced at over £100,000 went up to 77 per cent, a significant increase on the same period last year (65 per cent). NHBC's first time buyers' ability to buy index decreased by six points during the quarter to 105 (quarter two 2002 was 111). The index is based on a formula which takes into account the average cost of homes bought by first time buyers, average income and mortgage interest rates (from the Nationwide Building Society). The higher the index, the greater the ability to buy. Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC, says: "Figures for September 2002 are strong when compared to last year, and to date, applications for the first nine months are up ten per cent on 2001. This increase is mainly due to activity in the first half of the year. The number of applications to start new homes, including private housing registrations, over the past three months show little change to the same period last year." UK-wide figures show a total of 41,289 applications to start new homes during the third quarter, showing almost no change on the same period in 2001 (41,175). Of that total, 37,545 relate to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations), and show a one per cent decrease on 2001 (37,956). Housing association starts totalled 3,744 - an increase of 16 per cent on quarter three 2001 (3,219). NHBC UK figures show there were 39,115 new build completions during the third quarter of 2002, showing a two per cent increase on the same quarter last year (38,503). The figure for the average daily sales of new homes in the third quarter of 2002 is 576, an increase of eight per cent on the same period a year ago (534). ends
