House building levels drop to lowest since 1924

Housing starts have dropped to their lowest levels since 1924, a report from the Construction Products Association (CPA) has revealed.

The CPA and Ernst & Young revealed that there have been 135,000 housing starts since the start of the year, compared to 203,500 in 2007.

Excluding the second world war, the figure is the lowest since 1924 when there were 87,000 starts.

Meanwhile the CPA expects falls in office construction of 24% in 2009, and 19% in 2010.