House building continues to recover

House building is making its strongest recovery in over 15 years but supply continues to lag behind demand, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors construction market survey has revealed.

Stephen Smith, director, housing and external affairs at Legal & General Network, said: “This is encouraging news, however there is still more to be done. With consumer confidence starting to return to the market, it's crucial that more homes are built so that demand does not outstrip supply.

“Having a good stock of affordable housing is key to ensuring house prices don't overheat and the market continues to grow in a sustainable manner.

“The figures from RICS show that a significant amount of this building work is being carried out by the private sector.

“The government and industry need to do all they can to support this in the coming months and years.”

Stephen Smith, director, housing and external affairs at Legal & General Network, said: “This is encouraging news, however there is still more to be done. With consumer confidence starting to return to the market, it's crucial that more homes are built so that demand does not outstrip supply.

“Having a good stock of affordable housing is key to ensuring house prices don't overheat and the market continues to grow in a sustainable manner.

“The figures from RICS show that a significant amount of this building work is being carried out by the private sector.

“The government and industry need to do all they can to support this in the coming months and years.”

Peter Lawrence at Lawrence Rand added: “For many years the UK has not built enough new homes to meet demand for owner occupiers or those who wish to rent in either the private or social sector.

Any increase in volumes is encouraging but with Help 2 Buy fuelling demand further there is still a significant shortfall in supply which, even with positive efforts from house-builders will take some time to change due to lengthy planning processes and availability of skilled labour and materials.”