The worst is over for Housebuilders
The number of new housing jobs on order in the UK has reached its highest level in over a year, leading housebuilders to claim that the worst might be over.
In the three months up to October, over 25,000 new properties began work. This is 27 percent more than the same period last year according to figures from the National House Builders Council (NHBC).
From late 2007, the housebuilding industry and the construction industry suffered from some of the worst effects of the recession. Many construction, building, engineering and labour jobs have been threatened because of this. However it is hoped that the new homes are a sign that jobs in construction will increase as the UK housing market improves. A healthier housebuilding market would mean an increased demand for workers seeking labour, surveying, design and building jobs.
Three of the UK's largest housebuilding companies also gave cautious but optimistic assessments of the market. Persimmon, Bovis and Barratt, some of the biggest employers for jobs in construction in the housing market, all said that they expected gradual improvement in the market. However all three warned that any further disruption to the banking system could undermine this, and that the market would still be subdued for the short term.
Imtiaz Farookhi, the chief executive of the NHBC spoke to the Financial Times about the improvement.
He said it was "encouraging that this quarter we can see gradual improvement in new builds, which backs up the housebuilders' sentiment that the worst is over". Farookhi added that it would be a year before there could be any certainty of sustained recovery.
The recovery in the housing market is being led n the south-east and London, where work started on about 8000 homes. The north-east was the region with the greatest percentage increase however; the 870 new properties started before October represent a 300% increase on the figures for 2008.