New home completions at highest level since 1980s

November 14, 2019 / Isla MacFarlane
New home completions at highest level since 1980s

The latest government stats on housing supply caused a stir today, revealing that new home completions are 9% above their 2007 peak but still far short of government targets.

Official figures released today show that there were 241,130 net additions to the housing stock last year, however only 214k of these were actual new builds, a far cry from the government’s promise of 300,000 new homes a year.

Michael Stone, founder and CEO of new homes specialists, Stone Real Estate, said: “Whilst the latest net housing supply numbers are to be welcomed as a positive increase on previous periods, scratch the surface a little and you’ll see that we are still an annual 87,000 new homes short of the Government’s own new build target.”

Furthermore, 14,107 new homes were delivered via permitted development rights, a contentious practice which bypasses the traditional planning system and has provoked a backlash in recent times.

Nonetheless, the figure puts new build completions at their highest level since the 1980s, which is no mean feat given the uncertain political and economic backdrop that housebuilders must build against. The figures mean that in the past six years, housing supply has almost doubled (up 93%) since a low of just over 124k in 2012/13. Over a million homes have been added to the housing stock in the past five years.

A separate report released today by the Home Builders Federation and Glenigan suggests that, assuming a level of stability, these increases will continue. The latest Housing Pipeline report, which measures the number of outline planning permissions granted, shows that almost 380,000 permissions were granted in England in the year to June.

These permissions, that should be built over the next three or four years once processed by the planning system, show a clear momentum from the housebuilding industry to deliver the homes that the UK needs. This is a welcome turnaround from recent data which suggests housing starts are hitting a six-year low.

As Britain readies herself for yet another race to the polls, the industry is calling on politicians of all colours to prioritise housing policies – on the demand and supply side – so that their challenging targets can be met.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said: “Today’s numbers show the huge progress made by the industry as we look to meet the country’s housing need. Alongside much needed homes, the increases are boosting local economies up and down the country, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and delivering much needed investment in infrastructure.

“We need politicians to continue to work with us and develop policies that enable further increases to be delivered. We need to see policies that ensure buyers can buy and that enough land comes forward in the right places quickly and efficiently. We also need to see more support for SME builders and specialist providers to ensure the supply base continues to grow. The industry is absolutely committed to delivering the high quality, environmentally friendly homes that people across the country’s communities need.”

However, others are calling for a more long-term approach. “An archaic and overly democratic planning system, an overly precious approach to the less desirable parts of our green belt, and a seeming apathy from the government on solving the issue, all contribute to a net deficit in terms of the housing we actually need as a nation,” said Stone. “Isn’t it time for a Housing Tsar with real power and that’s apolitical?”

Did you like this? Share it: