According to data shared by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, there are 162,000 houses under construction in England with the South East leading the way in terms of total homes built.
Utility installer Crown Energy looked at data from the MHCLG released it’s House building; new build dwellings, England: March Quarter 2019 report, which shows construction in the UK is in full swing with a total of 162,270 dwelling starts – that is work has begun laying the foundation.
This data is for the period October 2018 – March 2019.
The newly released data can reveal which regions in the UK are leading the way in terms of dwelling construction, and who has improved compared to the same period last year.
Keeley Downing, Managing Director, Crown Energy – a part of the Crown Oil Group, commented: “Housing construction is a vital part of England’s economy as we can see in this data. With areas like the North West witnessing tremendous growth of 43% more accommodation being built over the last three years, a healthy construction industry creates jobs for our country’s region and homes.
“Crown Energy works closely with the construction sector, so it’s great to see it thrive, especially in the North West where we are based.”
| Region | Dwelling starts (%) 2017/18 | Dwelling starts (% of total) 2018/19 | YoY Difference |
| South East | 17.76% | 18.73% | 0.97% |
| North West | 12.11% | 13.71% | 1.60% |
| East Midlands | 11.84% | 11.84% | 0.00% |
| South West | 11.21% | 11.52% | 0.31% |
| West Midlands | 9.89% | 10.42% | 0.53% |
| East Midlands | 9.39% | 9.18% | -0.21% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 8.31% | 8.77% | 0.46% |
| London | 11.84% | 8.70% | -3.14% |
| North East | 5.18% | 5.56% | 0.39% |
In absolute figures, England has 1.30% more dwellings officially under construction than last year, but compared to three years ago this is 12.92% higher.
Over three years, the North West’s housing industry has grown fastest – 15% since last year and a 43% in three years while construction in London has reduced 36% since 2015/16.
| Region | 2018-19 | % Diff | % Diff over three years |
| South East | 30,390 | 6.82% | 24.35% |
| North West | 22,250 | 14.69% | 42.81% |
| East | 19,210 | 1.32% | 6.60% |
| South West | 18,690 | 4.06% | 5.95% |
| West Midlands | 16,910 | 6.76% | 24.34% |
| East Midlands | 14,890 | -1.00% | 4.05% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 14,230 | 6.91% | 28.43% |
| London | 14,120 | -25.57% | -35.61% |
| North East | 9,030 | 8.93% | 28.27% |
| England | 162,270 | 1.30% | 12.92% |
As well as the buildings that began construction, a total of 195,290 new builds joined the market, with the South East taking the lion’s share of 39,260 and the North East only seeing 9,770 of these.
But not everything lasts forever. 8,050 dwellings were demolished in England in the October -March 2018/19 period. In the graph below, we see that London loves its homes least with a quarter of the countries demolitions happening in this region.
No doubt, however, this will be more to make space for new-builds!
| Region | 2017-18 |
| London | 2,070 |
| South East | 1,650 |
| East | 1,030 |
| North West | 690 |
| West midlands | 690 |
| North East | 610 |
| South West | 550 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 500 |
| East midlands | 270 |
| England | 8,050 |
