New home starts fall to record low of 6,000 in October

New home starts have fallen to their lowest level since records began, with less than 6,000 applications lodged to build new homes last month.

National House Building Council (NHBC) figures show applications to start new homes in October fell by 65% over 12 months, from 16,895 last year to just 5,893 this year.

In the three month period from August to October there were just 19,548 applications to start new homes compared to 51,608 in the same period last year.

Just 11,507 related to private sector activity – 73% lower than the same three month period in 2007.

And new build completions fell by 24%, with just 33,771 finished in the three month period this year.

The NHBC said the long-term picture will worsen. It anticipates only 85,000 homes will be registered in the 12 months to the end of March 2009, compared to the 184,000 registered in the same period last year.

It is the lowest annual figure recorded since NHBC records began in the early 1980s.