New homes goal is hit by market slowdown

The number of homes that developers started building in the first three months of the year was 8 per cent lower than a year ago, casting doubt on the government meeting its target of building 300,000 homes a year.

More than 39,000 new-build homes were started in England between January and March. This was down from 42,740 homes started during the same period in 2017. It was also down 5 per cent from 41,440 on the previous three months.

Hansen Lu, an economist at Capital Economics, said: “The wider housing market slowdown has caught up with the new-build sector. We think the housebuilding recovery has reached a hiatus.”

Annually, the number of homes started in the 12 months to March also fell, dipping 3 per…