House Building: March Quarter 2012, England
The latest statistics report on the period
January to March 2012 and update those previously released on 16 February 2012
Key points from the latest release are:
·
Seasonally adjusted house building starts in
England stood at 24,140 in the March quarter 2012. This is 11 per cent lower
than in the December quarter 2011.
·
Completions (seasonally adjusted) increased, up
6 per cent to 31,010 in the March quarter 2012.
·
Private enterprise housing starts (seasonally
adjusted) were 8 per cent lower in the March quarter 2012 than the previous
quarter, whilst starts by housing associations were 21 per cent lower.
·
Private enterprise and housing association
completions (seasonally adjusted) both increased by 8 per cent from the
previous quarter.
·
Seasonally adjusted starts are currently 42 per
cent above the trough in the March quarter 2009 but 50 percent below the
December quarter 2005 peak.
·
Completions are 36 per cent below their March
quarter 2007 peak.
·
Annual housing starts totalled 104,970 in the 12
months to March 2012, down by 6 per cent compared with the 12 months to March
2011. Annual housing completions in England reached 117,870 in the 12 months to
March 2012, an increase of 6 per cent compared with the 12 months to March
2011.
The full report can be found on the Government's
website at:
Not unsuprisingly this does not make for happy
reading; especially given that these figures are on top of a general shortfall in build-rates throughout the last 10 years or so. There is going to have to be one monumental resurgence in the housing market to even begin to scratch the surface. And with the economy in such uncertain waters and the banks seemingly reticent to lend on mortgages without requiring the sacrifice of your first borne, the prospects for an early return of the housing market seem some way off.
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