Government data: Housing supply in England hits eight-year low
Annual housing supply in England has fallen 6% to an eight-year low, official data from the Government shows.
The data shows there were 221,071 net additional dwellings in the 12 months to end March 2024, while delivery is down from 234,292 in 2022/2023.
The North-East, South-West and East Midlands have all seen the sharpest falls in annual delivery, while output in London fell 9% to 32,162 – a nine-year low.
This underlines the Government’s challenge to build 1.5m homes over the next five years.
Analysis by Knight Frank suggests the capital and the South-East face the biggest shortfalls compared to Labour’s suggested 370,000 annual target for England if they are to make the 1.5m aspiration.
Knight Frank’s Associate in Residential Development Research, Anna Ward said:
“These declines reflect the mounting challenges to boosting delivery, including construction capacity constraints and economic pressures stemming from market volatility.
“Addressing this shortfall requires empowering entrepreneurial developers in urban centres as well as traditional greenfield builders.”
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, added:
“The positive planning policy reforms announced in July were welcome but will take time to come through and the decline in output has been caused by multiple factors that go beyond planning policy.
“It is the first time in decades there has been no support scheme in place for first-time buyers and with only a limited market for new homes there is a very obvious constraint on output.
“Delays in the planning process caused by a lack of resources and inefficiency at a local level are a daily feature of trying to build homes while 160,000 new homes remain blocked because of European rules on nutrient neutrality.
“If the Government can reverse the decline in house building of recent years it will deliver a huge social and economic boost to our communities, but unfortunately the starting point is a difficult one that will require an ongoing concerted effort to address.”
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