1.2 Million – England’s Shortfall In Housing Supply

The shortfall in housing supply in England has been revealed, with the country missing its housebuilding targets by almost 1.2 million since 2004.

An investigation by Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has found that the Barker Review’s housebuilding recommendations that were made in 2004 advising that 270,000 homes a year would be required have never been met, resulting in this particular set of circumstances.

This comes 70 years since the New Towns Act was introduced back in 1946, intended to tackle the country’s housing supply shortage after the second world war. Some seven decades later, the property market in the UK still faces a lack of supply and there are still questions that must be answered as to how the government intends to tackle the crisis.

“Addressing the shortage of homes must remain high on the government’s agenda regardless of the work required following the EU vote. We need a clear strategy to deliver the 1.2 million additional homes and options like giving local councils fuller control of existing housing funding, as well as freedom to develop surplus public land, should form a key part of that,” chief economist at YBS Andrew McPhillips said.

Property experts have said it is still too early to understand what impact leaving the EU will have on the sector, although it is likely that those in the industry will be cautious where housing demand is concerned until it becomes clearer just what exactly will happen over the next two years.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders, however, believes that the outcome will have an impact on housing market activity for the next couple of months.

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