According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), 41% of its members reported growth in privately-funded housing projects in the third quarter.

This is the first time growth is being reported across all parts of the country since the crash six years ago, according to RICS. Furthermore, the overall construction sector saw a welcome boost during the three months to September.

Workloads are also rising at their strongest rate since summer 2004, leading to expectations that 50% more jobs will be created. But there has already been a jump in reported skill shortages, suggesting capacity will be stretched if the recovery continues to gather pace.

However, housebuilding starts rose just 6% in Q2 with completed builds rising to 9%, according to government figures out in August, although this still half the pre-crash average.

The Department of Communities and Local Government figures showed 110,530 homes were started in the 12 months to June this year, 7% up on last year, but 40% down on the March 2006 house building peak.

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Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said:

“While it’s certainly good news that construction and especially housebuilding is finally on the rise right across the UK, we are certainly not out of the woods yet.”