The level of housebuilding has climbed nearly one-third since the trough recorded in 2001, according to government figures.

The Department for Communities and Local Government’s latest housebuilding statistics, published last week, show that the number of housing starts rose to 182,000 in the year ending June. This figure is 29% higher than the equivalent number in 2001, when fewer new homes were built than in any year since 1921. It is also 4% higher than at this point last year, and the number of completions increased 5% to 165,400 over the same period.

However, the number of starts for the three months ending June was down to 46,800, 5% less than the same period in 2005. Levels dipped most sharply in the East of England and London. Annual housebuilding is still falling well short of the government’s target of 200,000 homes a year.

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