The UK construction industry grew at its fastest pace in four months this June as a result of an increase in house building, according to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
The PMI is a measure that determines how quickly the construction industry is growing or shrinking. A measure above 50 indicates growth and vice versa for a measure below 50.
London house prices are continuing to overwhelmingly outpace the rest of the UK housing market, as prices for the three months to June increased by 25.8% over the last 12 months.
As a result, the average home in London is not only higher than the pre-crisis peak in 2007, but they are also selling for over £400,000 for the first time in history.
There has been a drastic increase in the number of houses that have started being built in the UK, new government figures have revealed.
In comparison with April 2013, when the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme first started, there has been a 31% increase in the number of new houses that have started the building process.
The Bank of England has warned house prices in the UK could soon crash as prices continue to increase.
The warning has come amid reports that the UKâ??s most expensive flat ever has been sold for �£140m.
London house prices are now twice as much as outside the capital. It will now cost an extra £183,000 on average to purchase a home inside London compared to the rest of the UK.
Whilst there’s always been a premium paid on house prices in the capital, the gap is now at its largest since detailed records began in 1978.
House builders have been handed a boost by the government today as the chancellor announced that the first stage of the help to buy scheme will be extended until 2020, allowing a further 120,000 houses to be built.
The first part of the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme is specifically aimed at helping people buy new build homes, and was originally expected to end in 2016.
The rapid growth in demand within the housing market is dying down according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Although better mortgage deals have helped to satisfy some “pent-up demand” in recent months, leading to an increase in the number of house sales being completed, this surge in demand is “gradually exhausting itself.”
The number of privately rented homes in England now stands at 4 million for 2012-13, in comparison to the 3.7 million homes that are rented by councils and housing associations, according to a survey published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Additionally, the number of owner-occupied homes fell to 14.3 million (65.2% of all homes in England), which is the lowest percentage of home ownership since 1988.
The average income in England would need to increase by more than double in order for the average earner to be able to afford their first home, according to research from the charity ‘Shelter’.
The research shows that wages have increased by around 50% since 1997, however, this pales in comparison to house prices which have increased by more than 200%.
A report from Halifax has suggested that the housing market is continuing to exhibit an upward trend, as transactions in 2013 reached one million for the first time since the financial crisis in 2007.