A flood of new orders for private housing – a 25 per cent jump from the first to the second quarter of 2016 – signalled that the UK’s property market is in robust health.
Such figures haven’t been seen in Britain since the mid-1960s, when the Post-War ‘baby boomer’ generation suddenly needed somewhere to live.
Private new housing made up the bulk of the increase in orders, hitting £3.5 billion for the second quarter, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
As elsewhere in the UK economy, the upturn in new housing orders runs contrary to expectations of a post-Brexit vote downturn.
In the tech sector, for example, London Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed that $425 million was invested in the capital in the three months following June’s Brexit vote, far above the sums going into rivals Dublin ($70 million), Paris ($50 million) and Berlin ($30 million).
“London will continue to be the booming and successful city it is today, open to talent and creativity from across the world and a leading destination for American business,’ said Khan on a business promotion trip to New York.
Despite the rush of new orders, there remains a major shortage of housing in London and the south east, something that worries many politicians and residents, but serves to maintain the region’s attraction to property investors, assured of continued price rises and vigorous demand.
