Publication of an investigation into the housebuilding industry by the Office of Fair Trading is to be delayed until the autumn.

The investigation, which is a 鈥渕arket study鈥� by the competition regulator, was due to report this summer. However, a spokesperson for the OFT admitted it was now not expecting to publish before the autumn.

The spokesperson said there was no particular cause for the delay and denied it was owing to a desire to widen the terms of reference of the inquiry. The investigation, launched last June, was designed to look at why satisfaction levels for those buying new houses has not risen in the past five years.

The investigation is also looking at why the supply of new housing has not risen quickly enough to meet rising demand and ameliorate housing inflation.

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