Comment from shelter on annual house building figures

November 17, 2017

Shelter comment on annual housing supply figures (2016/17) released yesterday 16th November 2017

  • There were 217,350 additional dwellings between 2016/2017, and increase of 15% on last year. (DCLG)
  • However, according to government statistics out last week, the total number of affordable homes built in England last year was 41,530, well below the average over the past ten years. This means that only 19% of new properties announced today are classed as affordable. (DCLG)
  • The biggest changes in supply were seen via conversions (splitting homes to make more units) and change of use (conversions from offices to flats for example), at 19% and 22% respectively. Worryingly, these dwellings have no quality assurance or affordable housing obligation.
  • Shelter say we need to build at least 250,000 new homes a year, 125,000 of which should be genuinely affordable. Affordable homes should take up no more than 1/3 of local people’s income.

Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, said: “It’s good to see the Prime Minister shedding light on housebuilding and new statistics showing some increase in new homes, however the numbers are still well short of the government’s own targets and we should be crystal clear that not even a fifth of these are affordable.

“With hundreds of thousands of people homeless this Christmas and those in need of affordable homes going up all the time, owing to a crippling combination of soaring rents and welfare cuts, these numbers fall woefully short.

“If the government is serious about tackling our housing crisis and helping the millions of families on lower incomes in the upcoming budget then sticking plasters will not be enough – it must urgently prioritise building homes which are genuinely affordable for ordinary people to rent or buy.”

Source of information Shelter.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Highest ever price gap between first-time buyer and second-stepper home

Latest Rightmove data shows that the price gap between a typical first-time buyer home and a second-stepper home is at its highest ever, increasing cost pressures on those looking to trade up: The average asking price for a 3-4 bedroom, typical mid-market second-stepper home is 52% more than a 0-2 bedroom, typical first-time buyer home…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Mortgage Rates and Human Behaviour: Why Small Changes Create Big Reactions

By Sarah Thompson, Group Financial Services Director, Mortgage Scout Mortgage rates have returned to the headlines in recent weeks, with some lenders pushing products back above 5%. Renewed market volatility has been driven in part by global uncertainty, including the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on energy markets and investor confidence. Yet…
Read More →
Breaking News

Nearly six in ten UK property purchases trigger AML red flags

Nearly six in ten UK property purchases now require further scrutiny under anti-money laundering (AML) rules, according to new data from client due diligence platform Thirdfort. Analysis of more than 415,000 completed Source of Funds (SoF) checks found that 57.7% of transactions contained at least one red flag, with an average of two flags per…
Read More →
Breaking News

Vanishing act of sub-4% fixed rate mortgages

A cut to Bank of England Base Rate (BBR) looks increasingly unlikely, with the upheaval in mortgage re-pricing leading to a vanishing act of sub-4% fixed mortgages, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk analysis. Mortgage market analysis The pool of lenders offering a sub-4% fixed rate deal has taken a significant blow. All of the biggest banks, namely…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform

Will the Government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Consultation Increase or decrease the speed at which the market moves? Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director, LRG The government’s consultation on Home Buying and Selling Reform is a step in the right direction. It recognises what every estate agent and conveyancer already knows: property sales take…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

The Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill

Content and clarification Comment from the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) By Shabnam Ali-Khan – Partner, Russell-Cooke Following the rushed Royal Assent of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, further controversy has arisen. In the King’s Speech on 17 July, the new Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill was announced, but the full details…
Read More →