Million home backlog expected by 2010
Housing production has hit an 80 year low and could take seven years to recover.
The shortfall in new homes for 2009 could fill a city the size of Nottingham, a new report says.
The study was launched today at the Labour Party conference by think tank The Smith Institute and financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It says there is likely to be a 150,000 home shortfall for 2009, and the backlog could reach 1 million by the end of next year. It could take at least seven years to get house building back to pre-slump levels.
Around 100,000 homes will be completed this year – a 40 per cent drop from peak levels.
The report, ‘Mind the Gap: Housing Supply in a Cold Climate’, says new homes built by councils must be in addition to properties built by housing associations and private house builders.
It says there should be greater support for local authority land deals and help setting up local housing companies and other joint house building ventures with councils. And councils should be able to use rental and sales income from new build to support new models of funding development and infrastructure such as accelerated development zones.
It says the government should support rescheduling of section 106 planning gain agreements, which provide affordable housing, including changes to tenure mix.
More greenfield and public land should be released for house building, it adds.
David Pretty, former chief executive of house builder Barratt and an author of the report, said: ‘If we ignore this problem and reduce public intervention and investment in new supply of both private and affordable housing, there could be serious social and economic consequences, not least record housing waiting lists and more pain for beleaguered first time buyers.
‘Further action, such as more land release, support for new entrants in the market and expansion of the private rented sector, is needed to avoid a return to a cycle of housing boom and bust.’
The Home Builders Federation, which represents large house builders, endorsed the study.
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