Need to kick-start housebuilding

The bold action to kick start housebuilding industry are called after figures showed the number of new properties that began in Britain fell to a three-year low. A total of 21,540 homes were started during the three months to the end of June, a 10% fall compared with the previous quarter, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) figures show. Denial is the second consecutive year in which the start housebuilding fell compared with the previous quarter and the latest number is the lowest since the three months to June 2009. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said a "small" number of new start in three months almost a third of what is universally accepted as the amount required to meet the demand. He said: "These figures show the scale of the problem widening to provide enough new housing. "It's obviously something that thick is needed to meet the current housing crisis." In a few minutes total, refused housing by private developers by 7% in the previous quarter, while starting with housing associations fell by 23%. The number of newly completed properties also dipped by 6% to 29,470 in the three months to June, following a rise seen during the past two quarters. Industry was hit hard by the credit crunch as developers struggle to raise finance they need, while consumers can not obtain a mortgage to buy a new home. Since early 2008, there was a period of rapid decline in early build shelves in the spring of 2009. Complementing down more slowly than earlier but over a longer period.