The number of new home applications in England rose to its highest level in four years in Q1 2026, according to the latest data from Planning Portal operator, TerraQuest.
The latest Planning Application Index shows that there were 71,028 housing unit submissions across England, excluding London, surpassing the final quarter of 2025, which saw the highest annual total of new homes applied for this decade.
TerraQuest says that the data reflects a strong start to the year, despite continued pressure from high borrowing costs, construction inflation and wider viability challenges facing developers.
Affordable housing applications stood at 4,225 units, the highest number at the start of any year since the beginning of the decade, while market homes reached their strongest opening quarter since 2022.
TerraQuest’s data suggests developer intent remains resilient, despite wider economic pressures facing the sector, particularly around project viability. However, it also noted growing regional variation. While housing submissions remain resilient across much of England, London experienced a more difficult start to the year. At 9,346, housing unit submissions in the capital fell to their lowest level since Q2 2023 and were significantly down on the same quarter last year.
Beyond regional variation, the more persistent challenge lies in what happens after applications are approved. In TerraQuest’s inaugural Planning Application Index in 2024, the company underlined that over a million homes with planning permission since 2015 had yet to be built. These delivery challenges have persisted and compounded in recent years, with housing starts remaining broadly flat year-on-year, while completion figures are at their lowest level since 2014.
The steady levels of new homes being applied for suggests the disconnect between applications and delivery can be increasingly linked to post-application planning delays as well as site viability pressures. Rising construction costs, inflationary pressures, infrastructure constraints and wider economic uncertainty continue to impact the ability of developments to progress beyond approval.
Geoff Keal, CEO of TerraQuest and Planning Portal, said: “Against a challenging economic backdrop, it’s encouraging to see developer intent holding up and application volumes remaining resilient, particularly within affordable housing.”
“Yet, the gap between applications and delivery is still a hurdle for the sector. Though the appetite to build is clearly there, too many schemes are still struggling to progress due to viability pressures and wider economic constraints.”
“The planning system is often positioned as the primary barrier to delivery, but the reality is more complex. Questions around land viability, infrastructure, construction costs and funding are increasingly shaping whether approved schemes can realistically move forward.”
“If we want to convert strong application activity into homes being built at scale, the focus now has to be on creating the conditions that allow viable development to happen.”
