New houses going up – but number of skilled tradespeople going down

A broad-based housebuilding recovery moves on, but slowly, as smaller building firms are struggling to raise finance and find skilled tradespeople.

Research among around 500 small builders and developers showed that around a quarter of smaller companies (22%) cited obtaining finance as a challenge to their building business. For many, the unwillingness of banks to lend, together with the conditions imposed, appeared to be serious barriers and skills shortages showed that bricklayers, carpenters and decorators were all in short supply.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) recorded 107,017 registrations for housebuilding between January and September 2014, marking a 6% increase on the same period a year earlier and the highest year-to-date total seen since 2007, before the economic downturn struck.

The figures are taken from builders who are responsible for around 80% of homes constructed in the UK. Builders are required to register a house with the NHBC before starting…