Responding to the new projections of households for England and the regions released today by ODPM, Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation, says: “The number of households in England is due to rise by 23 per cent over the next twenty years, a faster than expected growth rate when compared to previous projections. Yet despite a modest escalation in recent years, house building remains at historically low levels. Indeed, over the last thirty years, there has been a 50 per cent drop in the number of new homes being built. The projections show that if housing output remains at the 2005 level, there will be a shortfall of 50,000 homes a year across the whole of England. “These latest household projections illustrate the new reality of England’s housing predicament. If we fail to increase supply to help meet demand, then the social and economic implications of the housing crisis will become even more acute. 1.25 million families already earn too much to qualify for housing benefit but are too poor to buy even the cheapest properties in their area. Figures focusing on first time buyers released yesterday by Shelter show that it became more difficult to get on to the property ladder in every English region last year. “These projections reiterate the need for a market-informed planning system that can deliver the right homes of the right type in the right places, so providing choice and enabling all parts of the market, including first time buyers, to meet their housing aspirations. “It is also important to note that the growth in the number of single person households will not necessarily translate into a demand for smaller properties. Recent research demonstrates that larger dwellings are popular and widely occupied by single person households. There is therefore a need to facilitate real choice if we are to build sustainable communities.” Members Login to see full briefing.
Notes for Editors
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for over 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk
New Projections of households for England and the Regions to 2026, ODPM Statistical Release 2006/0042, 14 March 2006: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2097
Figures compiled by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation in October 2005 revealed that there are “more than 1.25 million younger households in England, Scotland and Wales whose incomes would be too high to qualify for Housing Benefit if they were living in ‘social’ rented accommodation, but too low to afford a mortgage on even the cheapest two- or three-bedroom homes for sale in their area”: http://www.jrf.org.uk/pressroom/releases/111005.asp
New research spells end of “housing ladder” for first time buyers, Shelter warns, 00.01, Monday 13 March 2006
Research published by Professor David King in Room to Move? Household Formation, Tenure and Housing Consumption, March 2005, shows that Government policy orientated towards building smaller properties for smaller households fails to understand the aspirations and needs of British people. Dwellings with more than seven rooms are popular and widely consumed by single or two-person households.
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