House Building Valued at £1.8bn in February off the Back of Help to Buy

House Building Valued at £1.8bn inHouse Building Valued at £1.8bn in February off the Back of Help to Buy PR Newswire LONDON, March 21, 2014 House building continued to grow in the UK in February, according to a report released yesterday. It follows announcements in the Chancellor's Budget statement on Wednesday (19 March) that revealed the Help to Buy equity loan scheme will now be extended until 2020. Residential construction accounted for more than a third of all UK contracts awarded by value in February, totalling more than £1.83 billion - a significant increase of 72 per cent on the same month last year. These latest figures, taken from Barbour ABI's Economic & Construction Market Review, also reveal that London is still the country's house building capital, with 17.5 per cent of all residential construction contracts located in the city. Key projects include phase one of the development at 'One Woolwich' worth £35 million, the £25 million transformation of 60 Commercial Road near London Metropolitan University into student accommodation and the West Hampstead private residential scheme valued at £25 million. Trading updates from most the UK's major house builders reflect the residential construction sector's resurgence over the past twelve months. Bovis and Taylor Wimpey both posted full-year profit increases of 39 per cent, Persimmon is up 49 per cent and Barratt Homes has reported a 162 per cent increase in profit for the six months to the end of December 2013.