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An On the wire story
Housebuilding in England rebounded in the second quarter of 2026, with official figures showing new-build starts rose to 35,910 between April and June, according to government statistics.
That was 6% higher than in the previous three months and 20% up on the same period a year earlier, marking one of the strongest quarterly performances since the post-2023 downturn.
The recovery was helped in part by a sharp increase in projects passing through the Building Safety Regulator, whose reported starts reached 5,758 in the quarter.
That was far above its previous quarterly peak of 1,206, recorded in the third quarter of 2025, and meant regulator-reported schemes accounted for roughly one in six starts across England during the period.
Government figures suggest the surge reflects efforts to clear delays at the regulator, including a fast-track route for new-build applications and changes to leadership and resources.
The latest numbers also show the market is still well below its recent high point. Starts remain 47% lower than the exceptional level seen in the second quarter of 2023, when developers accelerated work before changes to building regulations took effect.
Even so, the direction of travel has improved after a steep fall in activity in the second half of 2023, when momentum in the housing pipeline weakened sharply.
Over the 12 months to the end of June, England recorded 136,330 new-build starts, a 15% increase on the previous year. Completions over the same period totalled 143,770, unchanged from the year before, suggesting delivery has stabilised even if overall output remains below what many in the sector would regard as a healthy level.
Earlier official releases pointed to a broader recovery taking shape before the second-quarter data were published. In the first quarter of 2026, housing starts had already risen to their highest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2023, indicating that the improvement was building gradually rather than arriving in a single surge.
Taken together, the figures imply that regulatory reforms are beginning to restore flow into the system, although the market is still recovering from a pronounced slump.
References
Main reference: Construction Enquirer [1]
• This On the wire article was created using Noahwire AI and reviewed by CIBSE Journal’s editorial team
