Despite industry woes with regard to housing shortages, it has been reported that, at the end of 2015, housebuilding reached an all new high at the finish of 2015. Ending the year on a very positive note, figures from the DCLG highlight that, over the course of the final 3 months of the year, the building of new homes reached the highest levels achieved since the high points in 2008, with approximately 37,230 homes completed and a further 37,080 started in last year’s final quarter.

As an overarching figure, the twelve months up to the end of 2015 incorporated the beginning of some 143,560 housing starts, which signified a notable increase on 2014, approximately 6% and over twice the figure reported in 2009. At the same, the number of completions over the course of 2015 also increased by some 21%, reaching 142,890 in total. Of specific note, the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire were shown to perform very well in the housebuilding arena.

In another report by the Home Builders Federation, it was also highlighted that more and more new homes were granted planning permission over the same quarter, with circa 59,845 homes in total giving the green light (a 12% increase from the previous year). These figures, combined with the number of new build projects being undertaken, highlight the hard work of developers in reducing the nation’s shortage of housing stock as well as the support of councils in opening up doors for them to do so.

Brandon Lewis, Housing Minister highlighted the importance of promoting even more housebuilding around the UK, though it’s safe to say that these figures provide a great foundation from which the sector can build upon in the coming months, and years. With a highly ambitious plan in the works for the future of the housing sector, Brandon Lewis commented that they will be: “Doubling the housing budget so we can meet our ambition of delivering a million new homes.”