Housebuilding increase welcomed by Minister

The Minister with responsibility for housing, Lesley Griffiths, has welcomed new figures which show a sustained increase in the number of new houses started in Wales over the past three years.

The statistics released today (10 June, 2015) show during 2014-15 a total of 6,955 new homes were started, a rise of 20 per cent on the previous year and the highest annual number recorded since 2007-08.

The latest figures reveal a continuing positive trend in house building activity in Wales. During 2014-15 there were 6,170 new dwellings completed in Wales, which is 6 per cent more than during 2013-14. Most new dwellings in 2014-15 were 3 bedroom properties, accounting for 38 per cent of all completions.

During 2014-15 the number of new dwellings completed for the private sector increased by 3 per cent compared to the previous year, while the number of completions for the social sector increased by a quarter to 837, which was the highest number recorded since 2010-11.

The Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, Lesley Griffiths, welcomed the statistics, saying:

“I am pleased these latest statistics show a continuing positive trend in housebuilding activity in Wales. As demonstrated by the figures, we are creating the right conditions for the sector to succeed and confidence is returning to the market.

“The creation of new homes provides a huge boost to the Welsh construction industry and our economy as a whole by providing thousands of jobs and training opportunities. These new dwellings also provide people across Wales with good quality, safe homes, which have a huge benefit to their health and wellbeing.

“Our successful £170 million Help to Buy-Wales scheme is playing a key role in kick-starting housebuilding in Wales. As well as helping people progress up the property ladder, the scheme has also proved to be great news for the housing industry, with 174 builders of all sizes across the country now offering Help to Buy – Wales shared equity loans on their properties.”

In February, in a move welcomed by the sector, the Minister set out the Welsh Government’s intention to extend the Help to Buy – Wales scheme to beyond 31 March 2016, to continue supporting buyers and builders across Wales.