Home building approvals in the UK had climbed 48% in the second quarter. This was after the government sought to boost mortgage lending and building permits became easier to obtain, said a Bloomberg report.

Approvals rose to 37,000 from the same period last year, said the Home Builders Federation in a statement today. The total number for the last 12 months ended in June had reached 156,608. This showed a 34% increase from the lowest year long period which had finally ended last September 2011.

According to Home Builders Federation executive chairman Stewart Baseley, "The gain reflects house builders' increasing confidence in the market and also the positive principles of the new planning system. With Help to buy forging ahead strongly and developers looking to increase output, we need to see the increase sustained."

UK house price tags jumped for the seventh month in August and would probably continue to increase throughout the year. This was according to a report by Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group Plc's mortgage unit. The values of homes increased 0.4% from last month to an average of GBP170231, said Halifax.