First-time Buyers
House building starts up 30% year-on-year
Total house building starts increased by 31% to 133,650 in the 12 months to March compared to March 2013, statistics released by the Department of Communities and Local Government have shown.
These non-seasonally adjusted figures were 77% higher than house building starts during the downturn in June 2009.
But they still lag some way behind activity seen in the peak of March 2006 when starts were up 27% on today’s figures.
Housing minister Kris Hopkins said: “The end of the unsustainable housing boom devastated our construction industry leading to the loss of a quarter of a million construction jobs.
“It’s taking a massive government effort to get Britain building again and today’s figures show it’s working in no small part thanks to the measures we’ve taken to help aspiring homeowners onto the property ladder.”
Private house building has increased 34% since the launch of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, focused on helping people purchase new build homes, in April 2013.
