Responding to official Government figures which show that the rate of new household formation in England is projected to be 223,000 per year up to 2026, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation (HBF), Stewart Baseley, says:
“These figures provide an urgent reminder of the chronic shortage of housing this country faces. Young people are finding it increasingly hard to buy their own homes as the shortage of supply continues to fuel house price inflation.
“Government targets aim to raise annual house building in England to 200,000 by 2016, so today’s figures show that the current rate of 160,000 new home completions leaves a shortfall of over 60,000 homes per year.
“These projections show the critical need for local authorities to bring land forward for development and increase the flow of planning permissions so that house builders can build the homes we so desperately need. We need to provide choice and enable all parts of the market, particularly first-time buyers, to meet their housing aspirations.”
Notes to 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: http://www.hbf.co.uk
2. DCLG’s household projection figures, first published in March 2006, have been updated by Anglia Ruskin University to take account of the Office for National Statistics - ONS (2004 based) population projections.
3. The March 2006 figures predicted an annual increase in household formation of 209,000, but the updated figures show a 7% rise to 223,000 new households per year up to 2026. The updated figures can be found at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2374
4. UK new home completions in 2006 totalled 160,230, which by today’s revised figures indicate a housing of shortfall of over 60,000 homes per year: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2355
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