“The onus is on the Government to jumpstart the housebuilding industry”: LendInvest responds to latest housebuilding stats

The Department for Communities & Local Government has today published the latest housebuilding stats. The figures revealed that housebuilding starts in England rose 2% in Q2 compared to the previous quarter and 6% on a year-on year basis. Completions were up 7% on the previous quarter, but down 2% lower than last year.

In response, Rod Lockhart, managing director at online mortgage lender LendInvest, said:

“The modest pace of the improvements is a concern. At the current rate, we will fall well short of the Government’s target of one million new homes by 2020, and fail to make inroads into the sharp housing shortage in the UK.

“The onus is on the Government to jumpstart the housebuilding industry. The large housebuilders are not keen to do more, so efforts must be focused on small and medium-sized builders. The rumoured £5 billion Home Building Fund is a good start, but finance is not the only area holding these builders back. More has to be done to reduce the complexities of the planning system and open up access to land to build on.”