Surge in new homes numbers

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, show that the number of new homes built has soared to an 11-year high.

More than 170,000 new homes were completed by developers in the year ending June 2019, which is the highest number built over the same period in the last 11 years. The latest data represents an eight per cent increase compared with the previous year alone.

Welcoming the figures, Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “As Housing Secretary, it’s my mission to get Britain building.

“The data released today is hugely welcome, with the number of new homes built reaching an 11-year high. We are moving in the right direction, but there is still much more to do if we are going to deliver the numbers needed by communities up and down the country.

“I’m determined to deliver homes that are high-quality, well designed and good for the planet. Faster and simpler planning regulations will help us reach that goal, which is why I have announced measures to accelerate planning decisions for homes and reduce the use of unnecessary conditions by up to a third, freeing up developers so they can get on and build in a locally appropriate way.”

The new data also reveals the proportion of family houses built has increased to 78% of all the new dwellings delivered in the marketplace – the highest the figure has been since 2000.

The housing drive is being led by government policy designed to tackle the housing crisis. Ministers have recently announced complementary new measures as part of the accelerated planning green paper which will quicken the pace of decision making and get shovels in the ground faster. New permitted development rights, including allowing the demolition and rebuild of old commercial buildings, as well as requiring councils to meet timescales or refund planning application fees are aimed at getting homes built faster.

Comprehensive statistics are due in November, but these initial figures show measures to tackle the housing crisis are having effect. Last year 220,000 new homes were delivered by the English housing market – the highest in all but one of the last 31 years.

At the same time, the National Housing Federation released figures revealing the number of homes built by social housing providers in the first quarter of this year. Housing associations started to build 51,618 homes in the 12 months up to and including June 2019, completing 45,414 homes in the same period. Some 11,823 homes were started in 2019/20 Q1, an increase of 23.5% from the same quarter last year.

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