Housebuilders have begun work on the most new properties since the financial crisis, the latest figures show.

 

Private housebuilders started work on 28,500 new homes in England in the three months to the end of September – up 29% year on year. The latest quarterly figure from the Department for Communities and Local Government is about a third lower than the 43,040 in the first quarter of 2007. Total housing starts for the year to the end of September were 117,110 – up 16% year on year. Annual “housing completions” fell 8% to 107,950. Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, said more needed to be achieved on supply. The Council of Mortgage Lenders separately reported that the number of homes sold this year was set to top 1m for the first time since the financial crisis. Persimmon closed up 2.9% at £11.97 and Barratt Developments rose 2.9% to 335.1p.