Homes England has today published its latest official housing statistics, which show the number of homes being built in England continued to rise in the first half of this financial year.
Between 1 April and 30 September 2018, programmes managed by Homes England* started building 15,766 homes on site and completed a total of 15,704 homes. These figures represent 15 per cent and 31 per cent increases on the first half of 2017-18.
Affordable homes represented 63 percent of the housing starts (9,909 homes) – a 42 per cent increase on the same period last year – and 71 per cent of the housing completions (11,091 homes), a 19 per cent increase on the number of affordable homes completed in the first half of last year.
A total of 5,857 homes for market sale were started in the six months to 30 September 2018 – a 13 per cent decrease on the same time last year – however, the number of market sale homes completed in this period was up 69 per cent to 4,613, compared to 2,737 last year.
Of the affordable homes started, 5,714 were for Affordable Rent – a 26 per cent increase on the 4,526 started in the same period last year. A further 3,702 were for Intermediate Affordable Housing schemes (including Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy), representing a 71 per cent increase on the same period last year. The remaining 493 affordable homes started were for Social Rent, an increase of 68 per cent on the 294 started in the first six months of last year.
Of the affordable homes completed, 7,943 were for Affordable Rent – a 10 per cent increase on the 7,219 completed in the same period last year. A further 2,841 were for Intermediate Affordable Housing schemes – an increase of 50 per cent on the 1,900 completed in the same period last year. The remaining 307 affordable homes completed were for Social Rent, an increase of 76 per cent on the 174 completed in the first six months of last year.
Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:
"These latest figures show the overall number of homes being built continues to rise, reflecting the hard work being carried out by the housing industry to build better homes faster.
"However, while they are encouraging to see, we cannot be complacent. We know there is more work to be done to meet the Government's ambition to deliver 300,000 new homes a year, so we will continue to intervene in the housing market and use our land, powers and influence to make homes happen."
ENDS
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