New home starts reach fresh low - government figures

With the population growing and few new houses being built, the demand for homes to rent is rising

The number of homes started by house builders in England has fallen again, to the lowest level for three years.

Government figures show only 21,540 new homes were started by builders in the three months to June this year.
That was 24% down on the same period a year ago and a 10% drop from the first three months of the year.
Meanwhile, the average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached a new high point in July, of £725 a month.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said: "Starts are now 54% below their December quarter 2005 peak, but 27% above the trough in the March quarter of 2009."
'Frustrated first-timers' The dearth of new housing, allied to the rapidly growing population and continued rationing of mortgage funds for first-time buyers, has been a key factor behind the relentless upward trend in the cost of being a tenant.
The letting agency group LSL said average rents rose by 1% last month.
That was the fourth monthly rise in a row, putting them 2.9% higher than a year ago.
LSL said rents were rising fastest in London and the South East, with the average rent in the capital now at £1,057 a month.
"The backlog of frustrated first-time buyers in the private rented sector showed no sign of clearing in July - in fact, it is still growing," said David Newnes, of LSL.
"As lending to those without substantial deposits remains depressed, demand for rented accommodation can only go one way in the long-term - providing further upward momentum for rents.
"The rental market is also entering its summer peak, as recent graduates and those with new jobs begin to look for new accommodation," he added.
More renters With mortgage lenders now typically asking borrowers to put down a 20% or 25% deposit, many would-be home buyers have been in effect locked out of the home-buying market.
As a result, many are still being forced to rent a flat or house when, ideally, they would have bought one in the past few years.
This has led to constant upward pressure on the demand for rented housing at a time when house building has been in the doldrums.
The effect of all this has been that the level of owner occupation has been dropping since 2005, after reaching a peak of 70.9% in 2003.
Figures earlier this year showed that owner occupation had fallen to 66% of all households in England, which was back to the level of 1989.
Meanwhile, the proportion of households renting their homes from private or public-sector landlords had increased, to 34% of households.