According to newly released data from the government, new housing starts more than doubled during Q3 against the previous quarter and the number of completed homes almost tripling over the same period.
Between July and September, 35,710 homes were started, an increase of 111% on the previous quarter. Meanwhile, home completions soared 185% to 45,000.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the figures reflected “the housing and construction industry’s resilience and measures they have taken to keep building sites open, in line with public health advice”.
The marked increase was also thanks to “support for all of those involved in the housing market, from renters and buyers to builders,” MHCLG claimed.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick recalled some of the measures the government had implemented during the pandemic, highlighting the importance of housebuilding to the country’s recovery:
He said: “Figures show that the number of new homes developers have started building have more than doubled compared to the previous quarter and the number of completed homes has almost tripled. This reflects the government’s commitment throughout the pandemic to support industry to enable construction sites to remain open and operate safely.
“We extended planning permission deadlines and flexible working hours on sites so that builders, architects and developers have been able to continue working while following public health advice. In turn, this has protected millions of jobs, from builders, through to estate agents and carpenters.
“The housing industry is key to our economic recovery, which is why we’re investing £12 billion in affordable housing, providing £400 million to build more homes on brownfield land, and investing £7.1 billion for a new National Home Building Fund over the next four years, unlocking up to 860,000 homes.”
