According to the latest Housing Pipeline report from Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Glenigan (the UK’s leading provider of construction project leads and industry analysis), the number of planning permissions granted for new homes in the first quarter of this year remained high, 4% up on the previous year.
Permissions have risen steadily every year since 2009 with housing supply also increasing over the last two years as permissions have reached the stage where builders can begin building.
Demand for new homes has also been high. Estimates from HBF indicate there is a shortfall of over one million homes in England. Almost a third of young people are living at home with family and 1.24 million people are on housing waiting lists. The Help to Buy scheme has driven the demand for new homes and interest rates have been historically low.
The report also highlights that over 180,000 new homes were added to the housing stock in 2014/15 – up 22% on the previous year – as house builders increased output in response to the rise in demand for new homes.
Residential planning approvals (Great Britain)
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