The latest figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government report the 137,000 new homes were started in 2014 – a 10% increase on the previous 12 months. The total of just 118,760 new homes completed in the 12 months to 31 December 2014 was up by 8% on 2013.
If ever there was proof that house builders are hoarding land and restricting supply this is it. Nearly every major plc house builder now has around five or six years’ supply of building land. Despite this their lobbyists the Home Builders Federation (HBF) are still bleating on about the planning system.
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman at the Home Builders Federation claimed that more than 100,000 extra people were now employed in house-building, providing a boost to the economy. Yet the HBF is demanding further incentives to encourage more development.
He said, “We are still way short of building the number of new homes the country needs, and that despite the government’s Help to Buy scheme, it was still too difficult for developers to get planning permission.”
