Almost nine in 10 housing associations report uptick in quarterly completions

A record nine in 10 housing associations reported higher completions at the end of the 2023/24 financial year, according to exclusive data from the Housing Today Boardroom.

While strong completions are expected at the end of a fiscal year, the increase in completions exceeded the expectations of many housing associations.

When surveyed three months ago, only two thirds of housing association directors expected an increase in completions.

This comes after 40% of housing association development directors reported higher completions in the final quarter of 2023.

While completions increased, there was an 18% net drop in starts. This was contrary to the expectations of two thirds of housing associations who, when surveyed three months earlier, predicted an increase in starts.

In the next quarter, over half of housing associations expect completions to fall.

Despite this, there are causes for cautious optimism ahead. New construction starts in the next quarter are not projected to fall.

In addition, more than half of respondents confirmed they have not paused work on any projects in the last three months, while concerns around borrowing costs limiting development capacity have lessened.

Housing Today Boardroom tracks market conditions, confidence and sentiment, using responses from our Boardroom Barometer panel of development directors.

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Currently, the Boardroom Barometer panel comprises development directors from leading housing associations, but the panel will expand to cover developers, housebuilders, councils and other relevant parties across the UK.