New home building by housing associations has increased by an encouraging 13% over the twelve months from April 2016 to April this year. That percentage amounts to nearly 48,000 new homes which are either completed or under construction.
The figures were recently published by the National Housing Federation via a survey they conducted to analyse the progress of the majority of housing development associations. The research questioned over three quarters of the associations currently engaged in new home building around the UK.
Many New Home Constructions Are Complete
Of the near 48,000 homes to have their constructions begun over the past year, 38,000 have been completed already, with the remaining 10,000 to be finished in due course. Interestingly, the National Housing Federation (NHF) actually noted that the number of recent completions had slowed down by 5%, though they understand that the reason for this slight drop-off is simply due to a general slowdown in the development of the new home builds.
The NHF were also quick to state that they believe the demand for new homes will see the number of new constructs started and the completion rate rise in the next few years.
New Home Numbers a ‘Great Achievement’
The NHF Chief Executive, David Orr, said of his organisation’s research, “These figures highlight the vital contribution housing associations are making to the nation’s housing supply.
“Starting nearly 50,000 new homes in 2016/2017 is a great achievement and a clear sign that the sector is recovering from the impact of the rent cut and Brexit vote. It also demonstrates the strength of the housing association business model, with almost half of the new homes built without Government funding.”
Data Reveals London to have the Newest Homes
The capital has experienced the largest amount of housing association building works, with13,585 new homes started and another 8,932 having been completed. The South East beyond London and the East of England followed the capital for the most amount of housing association building activity. The lowest amount of new home construction carried out by housing associations was in the North East, where just 2,811 had been started overall, with 1,595 of those having been completed.
The NHF’s data also revealed that the majority of these new homes were commenced during the fourth quarter of 2016, which was around the same time that the sector received a boost in the form of the Government’s autumn statement assigning billions of pounds in grants to affordable housing projects.