Last year saw builders in the UK deliver the highest number of houses on record, according to the Home Builders Federation. The group said that in all 200,000 homes were constructed in 2007 but that the current climate was likely to make this year's figures considerably lower. A spokesman for the federation said: "This year it is going to be significantly reduced. "How long it takes to get back up to 200,000 or even 240,000 is entirely dependent on how long the current climate continues and what action the government takes to address the current climate."He added that the organisation is calling on government to do all it can to get banks lending again. "There is action the government can take and we need to see these changes in the pre-budget report next week to assist and get the market moving again," the spokesman said. National House-Building Council statistics from October show applications for the building of new homes in the UK fell by more than half during the third quarter of 2008.