Housebuilding rates: supply and demand

An interesting article this week about housebuilding rates not rising significantly. It seems to not understand one of the basic tenets of the housebuilding industry - houses are only built as fast as people will buy them, to avoid excessive capital lock up. The “low” build rates are more indicative of a lack of purchaser interest, in particular among first time buyers who struggle to get a mortgage.

I believe of more concern to the industry should be the Localism Act and Neighbourhood Forums which from emerging experience is another tool for nimbys to block development, and there are also uncertainties around the National Planning Policy Framework.

William Luck, via www.building.co.uk