HOUSE BUILDING UP

House building has soared at the fastest rate since the end of 2015, a report found.

Experts say record low mortgage rates and a booming jobs’ market fuelled last month’s jump.

But it represented a bounceback from March, when house building hit a seven-month low.

Tim Moore, economist at report co-author IHS Markit, said: “A sustained rebound in residential building provides an encouraging sign that the recent soft patch for property values has not deterred new housing supply.”

The wider construction industry enjoyed a surprise rebound last month.

Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Survey uses an index to measure business activity. Anything above 50 indicates growth.

The construction sector jumped from 53.1 in April to 56 in May.

Kelly Boorman, head of construction at audit and tax firm RSM, said: “It’s likely that we’ll soon see house building activity return to pre-financial crash levels.”

Despite the report, shares in house builders Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Bovis all fell yesterday.