Total housing starts have also fallen by 87.4% from April to September this year compared to the same period last year. There were 13,763 new housing starts for those six months in 2010 but this fell to just 1,746 in 2011.
New starts for social rent have fallen in the six months to September this year compared to last year. For this period in 2010, there were 8,993 new starts, however in 2011 new starts fell to 259.
New building for intermediate rent has also slowed in the six months to September this year with no new building, compared to 1,398 new starts for the same period in 2010. New starts for low cost home ownership fell by 1,896 units in the past year, with 195 new starting taking place in the six months to September 2011.
Open market housing new starts have increased slightly compared to last year. In the six months to September 2010, there were 1,281 new starts, which increased by 11 to 1,292 for the same period this year.
The report said that housing outputs are "impacted by seasonal factors" and that the rate of delivery is expected to increase in the second half of 2011/12.
The closure of the National Affordable Housing Programme, the Local Authority New Build Programme and the Kickstart Housing Delivery Programme have impacted on the number of new housing starts this year. In place of these programmes the new Affordable Homes Programme is expected to deliver an increased amount of housing starts on site in the second half of 2011 to 2012, the HCA said.
The Government published its new housing strategy this week which aims to "get Britain building again". It pulls together existing housing policies and includes a number of funds aimed at boosting housebuilding. The newest fund to be announced is the “Growing Places Fund”, which pledges £500 million to help support strategic infrastructure projects.
The FirstBuy fund was announced in the March 2011 budget, which provides a £400m to assist 10,500 first time buyers purchase new build property by spring 2013 with a 20% equity loan. The scheme is supported by the Government and 100 housebuilders.
The Government’s New Homes Bonus is also included in the strategy, which rewards local authorities financially for housing growth. It provides the equivalent to six years’ council tax for each net additional home from April 2011. Almost £1 billion was set aside for the scheme in the spending review. This was first announced in April.
It is hoped that these measures along with the HCA's Affordable Homes Programme will give house building a boost.
