Housebuilding in England slows as Brexit looms

The government’s target for new home construction looks to be in jeopardy as housebuilding in England has continued to slow amid political uncertainty and skills shortages. In the first three months of 2019, the number of new builds starts declined by 9% compared to the previous three months, and dropped 9% annually, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. “The decrease in starts does look like a potential issue in the market. Longer-term it looks like overall delivery has levelled out at about 220,000 net additions a year,” said Neal Hudson, an independent housing market analyst. The government plans to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.

Financial Times (04/07/2019)   Mortgage Strategy (04/07/2019)   The Times (04/07/2019)