Unusually high Q2 starts were followed by a large decline
A rush to start building work ahead of the introduction of new regulatory standards last year resulted in a huge drop in new starts in the third quarter of 2023, according to the latest official figures.
The numbers from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, show that new starts between July and September dropped to 21,300 (seasonally adjusted).
This was a 68% decrease on the previous quarter and a 52% on the same quarter of the previous year.
However, a release note published with the figures, advised that there had been an “unusually high peak” in starts in the second quarter and a “correspondingly low trough” in the third as housebuilders sought to avoid complying with new building regulatory standards introduced in June.
“This makes it difficult to assess the underlying trend in starts this quarter and so it is not advised to draw conclusions from comparing this quarter directly with other quarters,” the note said.
The figures, known as “indicators of new supply” because they do not cover the entire market, also showed housing completions rose in the period to 39,990 (seasonally adjusted) a 1% increase compared with the previous quarter and a 5% decrease compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
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Completions declined on the previous year in seven of nine regions, with the largest percentage decrease in the North West (-12%). Increases only occurred in the East of England and London
The supply figures are based on numbers supplied by building control data, and while they are not seen as reliable absolute totals, because they only cover around 80% of the market, they are viewed as reliable gauges of trends in the market.
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