Part of government policy in the UK, and probably in the rest of the world as well, is to set the numbers of new houses that are required to meet the needs of an ever growing population. In order to keep abreast of this and check that the numbers match their requirements, a housing starts definition is shown as the number of new build, privately owned properties started in a given time period, usually a quarter. This data is sub-divided into property types such as houses (detached and semi-detached) and flats as targets are set for overall totals and individual types.

This can also be a good indication that an economy is growing as the more houses that are built indicate that financial growth and sustainability are improving. The amount of money being invested in the community for this new housing and the knock on affect once the properties are sold and occupied will sustain the growth.

An amateur investor also has to watch for what is known as a housing bubble Definition of this is where an area may be identified as a "hotspot" in the press or by interested parties and this then becomes an indicator to speculators that prices are probably going to rise in the very near future and give them short term gains.

Demand quickly rises pushing up prices even more and this fuels the perceived demand even more. Eventually the demand drops off and the speculators are usually long gone with their profits and it the Johnny-come-lately, i.e. the amateur investor, who now owns houses at inflated prices with a falling demand

Low interest rates can also start this cycle off when combined with a lessening of credit control standards, but this can less geographic and more general. This is almost what was happening in the whole UK market in 2006 to 2008 resulting in the large price falls in property then seen. The tighter controls introduced by the last government and the drop in money being made available popped this particular bubble.

My final definition Community Property is a very important one especially if you have a spouse. This is a legal term and indicates property or assets acquired during the relationship and this usually, on a divorce, is divided up between the two parties. As the majority of property investors tend to operate as self-employed for tax purposes and own the properties in their own name, in the event of a divorce, this still becomes part of the communal assets to be divided between the two parties.

Dave P Thomas