The figures said that 3,181 new public sector homes were registered in October 2010, compared to 1,887 in October 2011.
A new Government housing strategy was published yesterday but “there is a long way to go” in ensuring enough houses are built, a planning expert said.
‘Year-to-date’ registrations for new homes in 2010 are consistent with last year’s figures, but a drop across both public and private sectors in October suggests that the trend may not continue, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC).
NHBC statistics for October 2011 show that the overall number of new homes registered was 22% lower than in the same month last year.
Private sector house building has also suffered this year with a 14% drop in the number of new homes registered in October 2011 compared to the same time last year, according to the NHBC’s report.
The NHBC figures have been released at the same time as the Government's new housing strategy, which contains a number of measures directly aimed at boosting the number of houses being built.
“The challenges facing the housebuilding industry are well known. Over the last four years housebuilders have rebased their business models to reflect the much reduced number of buyers who are able to obtain finance,” said Iain Gilbey, a planning law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.
“Whilst delays in the planning system are a contributory factor, the main hurdle to growth in housing numbers, is the mainstream lenders’ reluctance to lend," he said. "The various strategies outlined by the Government yesterday are I am sure welcomed by the housebuilding industry, but there is a long way to go to return to the build rates that we experienced in the mid-2000s”
The Government’s housing strategy pulls together existing policies and contains new elements, such as a new build indemnity scheme; a new £400 million "Get Britain Building" fund, and a consultation on proposals to boost stalled developments.
The indemnity scheme will ensure the provision of up to 95% loan to value mortgages for new build properties. It will be launched in Spring 2012 by the Department for Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury and could help to support 100,000 new buyers.
"It is clear that the Government is taking the current situation very seriously and we are committed to working with, and advising the government in an attempt to support the industry at this crucial time," said Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC. "The Government should be prepared to act quickly if the new measures fail to have the desired effect of creating a substantial increase in housing numbers in the UK."
