Construction downturn scuppers Brown's housing plans

Falling demand for housing, coupled with the credit crunch, have caused construction firms to reduce their workloads, meaning supply issues are likely to continue supporting high house prices in the UK. A RICS survey shows 16% more chartered surveyors saw a rise in new building than a fall in the final quarter of 2007, down from 17% in the previous quarter. The slowdown in construction is likely to hamper Gordon Brown’s plans to build over 2m homes, as a way of tacking unaffordable housing in the UK. David Stubbs, chief economist at RICS, says: “Current financial instability is rocking m...