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Conservative housing pledge to bring just 9,000 extra homes a year

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  • 05/06/2017
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Conservative housing pledge to bring just 9,000 extra homes a year
The Conservative’s housing pledges will result in just 9,000 extra properties each year, despite promises to build a million homes by 2020, according to research.

Property website Property Partners confirmed the average rate of building has been 166,000 homes a year, with a Tory commitment to build 175,000 a year.

Labour has pledged to build a million homes by the end of 2022 – 200,000 a year – and the Conservatives have pledged a further half a million homes by then.

But despite serious fanfare over their manifesto commitments and stated ambition to tackle the housing crisis, both major parties’ policies will result in the housing surplus in England shrinking by the end of the next Parliament.

England had a housing surplus of unoccupied homes last year of 2.2%, or 504,079 homes, falling to 1.9% this year or 434,744 homes. Property Partners’ analysis shows this surplus will fall to 346,977 or 1.4% by the end of 2022.

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to build 300,000 homes a year by 2022 but have not revealed further details.

 

Widening deficit

ONS projected household growth figures suggest England will face a housing shortfall from 2025 of 877 homes. The deficit will widen from there 452,598 homes or 1.6% by 2039.

In London, a shortfall has existed since 2014 at a shortfall of 24,057 homes or 0.7%. It reached 3.8% or 139,919 homes this year and by 2022 it is predicted to reach 7.3% or 288,623 homes, with either parties’ manifesto pledges factored in.

At current housebuilding rates, London’s deficit will climb to an estimated 731,724 homes or 15.1% come 2039 as the capital grows to an expected 4.8m households.

Mark Weedon, head of research at property investment marketplace Property Partner, said: “The housing market is broken, there are not enough homes and despite both of the UK’s major parties’ stated ambitions to tackle the housing crisis, their manifesto plans fall short given the scale of the problem.

“London’s chronic imbalance of supply and demand is not being addressed, and by 2025 the housing shortage will have spread across England. This represents one of the biggest threats to family life and consumer spending in this country.”

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