House building numbers slump

The number of private homes built across the country has slumped by almost two-thirds according to the latest figures from National House Building Council (NHBC). The three months from November to January this year saw the second largest decrease in the number of applications from builders looking to start new homes. The NHBC has revised its prediction for the number of new home starts for the financial year 2008/09 from 85,000 to 80,000, well under half the number of new homes started in 2007/08. It reiterated calls for more government intervention to increase the number of new starts, and to improve liquidity in the mortgage market.