A thread highlighting the major age-demographic problem in the UK construction workforce &, critically, the rapid acceleration of the age-demographic problem since 2019 Q1 with a loss of over 300,000 UK construction workers. (1/n).#ukconstruction #construction #ukhousing

RT @NobleFrancis: House building activity in May 2025 was 1.3% lower than in April, only 0.6% higher than a low base a year ago & it was st….

Overall, total house building in May 2025 was still 19.1% lower than in October 2022 &, as I keep repeating, clearly it will take many years to get back to this, never mind the fanciful house building levels that government keeps talking about. (16/end).#ukhousing #housing

In the long-term, Government's funding for the new Affordable Homes Programme may boost social & affordable house building but in the short-term (2025 & 2026), the key house building issues for housing asociations & local authorities remain the same. (15/n).#ukhousing #housing

. continue to be mainly focused on dealing with issues on their existing stock (basic living conditions like mould & leaks plus general fire safety issues), they are not focused on adding to housing stock (that may need refurbishment work later). (14/n).#ukhousing #housing

. additional 'sticking plaster' funding for social & affordable homes in government's Autumn Budget 2024 & Spring Statement 2025, given the sharp rise in construction costs (labour & materials) plus housing associations & local authorities that. (13/n).#ukhousing #housing

In terms of public house building, output in May 2025 was 2.4% lower than in April, 14.5% lower than a year ago & 42.2% lower than pre-pandemic as housing associations & local authorities remain highly financially constrained despite. (12/n).#ukhousing #housing

. is dependent on areas of the country where demand is recovery, affordability is better & house price outweighs all the increases in house building costs in recent years. (11/n).#ukhousing #housing

. major house building growth will continue to be mainly be dependent on the rate at which mortgage rates fall & the extent to which government enables demand through policy (which it is not doing currently) whilst smaller house building growth. (10/n).#ukhousing #housing

Long-term, the government's moves to ease planning may help in the but in the short-term the largest constraint for major house builders is affordability (deposit & mortgage rates/payments) & consequently. (9/n).#ukhousing #housing

. the National Living Wage & employers' National Insurance Contributions (not just for themselves but throughout the whole supply chain) &, going forward, the Future Homes Standard, which is expected to be published in Autumn, & will also add costs. (8/n).#ukhousing #housing

. demand is also gradually recovering but government’s continual adding extra costs onto house builders disproportionately affects their site viability (water & nutrient neutrality, Biodiversity Net Gain, persistent planning delays, building regs F,LO &S, . (7/n)

Within private house building, major house builders are, overall, still experiencing single-digit percentage rise in completions but this is being partly offset by both slower growth from smaller house builders, where. (6/n).#ukhousing #housing

Private house building output in May 2025 was still 2.9% higher than a year ago, which was still a low base after the 25.1% fall in private housing activity between October 2022 (pre-Mini-Budget & mortgage rate rises peak) & the November 2023 nadir. (5/n).#ukhousing #housing

. it does reflect what house builders have been reporting, which is that activity was subdued in January & February but that there was a significant pickup in activity during March but it has eased slightly since then. (4/n).#ukhousing #housing

Private house building is the vast majority of house building (87% of total house building in 2024) & in May 2025 it was 1.1% lower than in April & it was a second successive monthly fall in activity but. (3/n).#ukhousing #housing

ONS house building output has been on a gradual, upward trend since 2024 Q2, following the 22% fall in house building between October 2022 & April 2024 but may's fall in output was a second successive monthly fall in house building activity. (2/n).#ukhousing #housing

House building activity in May 2025 was 1.3% lower than in April, only 0.6% higher than a low base a year ago & it was still 19.1% lower than it was at the recent peak in October 2022 years ago, according to the latest ONS construction output data. (1/n).#ukhousing #housing

RT @NobleFrancis: UK brick deliveries are a useful proxy for house building starts in the absence of monthly house building starts data. De….

. mainly dealing with issues on their existing housing stock (mould, leaks, fire safety etc.), they are not focused on adding to their housing stock (that may need retrofitting work later) through buying Section 106 properties or building themselves. (17/end) #ukhousing

As for affordable housing & the small niche of social housing, the government's plans for the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme will improve social & house building in the long-term but currently Housing Associations & Local Authorities remain focused on. (16/n).#ukhousing