Consumer demand for new homes dropped by 8% over the last year, new data on Wednesday revealed.
The Federation of Master Builders’ House Builders’ Survey showed that consumer demand for new homes fell to its lowest level since 2013.
The report found that 48% of small house builders blame the fall in buyer demand on a lack of consumer confidence.
Indeed, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, Brian Berry, said that Brexit uncertainty was weighing on consumer confidence.
“Small house builders are starting to see the effects of Brexit uncertainty taking its toll on consumer confidence,” the Chief Executive said.
“Many prospective homeowners are clearly holding off buying until there is more political and economic certainty,” the Chief Executive continued.
“Hopefully this is just a short-term pause, and that post-Brexit, demand will pick up once again. If not, and we enter a downturn period, the Government will need to consider how best to support SME house builders to avoid many firms leaving the sector.”
Indeed, as the nation has entered the final month of the Brexit deadline, the only certainty that prevails is additional uncertainty.
In other sectors, the UK new car market was also hit by Brexit uncertainty as it similarly weighed on consumer confidence – new data revealed earlier in October that the new car market declined in the first nine months of the year.
The Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders continued to add that “the main barriers facing small house builders have started to ease but they are still present”.
“This is the fifth consecutive year that small house builders have cited lack of access to available and viable land as the number one barrier. Small sites are the bread and butter of SME development, but unfortunately local authorities’ Local Plans are still far too focused on large sites.”
