Key Statistics: 16 Sept 2014

Construction

• Seasonally adjusted construction output was flat between July and June this year, according to the latest ONS figures. Over the period May to July output rose by 0.6% compared to the previous three months, the strongest improvement since March of this year. However the annual rate of growth has been moderating in recent months; the three months to July saw output 3.9% higher than a year earlier, down from 6.7% in March and the weakest rate of growth since July 2013.
• The HBF’s latest Housing Pipeline report, produced by Glenigan, shows that planning permissions for 56,647 homes were granted in England in Q2 of this year- the highest number for over six years. The figure maintains the steady increase in total permissions granted in recent quarters and raises the Moving Annual Total to 197,325 permissions in the12 months to Q2, a level not seen since 2008.

Economy

• August’s Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported signs that the housing market has reached ‘a plateau’. Respondents expect UK prices to rise by 2.3% over the next 12 months, down from 3.7% expected at the start of this year, and for prices to rise faster outside the capital than in it, which would be a striking reversal of recent trends that have seen London prices rise at an almost twice the UK average. August’s Halifax House Price Index offered more tentative signs that house price gains are moderating. According to their figures the three months to August saw prices rise by 3.0% on the previous months and 9.7% on a year earlier, however these rates were down on those seen in July, at 3.5% and 10.2% respectively. The report pointed to signs of improving supply of both new and second hand homes.