Lack of new homes at crisis point, say builders...

06 September 2010

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Written by rosalind renshaw

The shortfall in new homes being built has reached crisis point, the House Builders Federation has said.

It said that nearly one-third of men plus one-fifth of women aged 20 to 34 are still living with their parents; that the average age of an unassisted first-time buyer is now nearly 37; and that there are almost five million people on local authority waiting lists.

The HBF estimates the shortfall of homes to be approaching a million, yet says we are building fewer new homes now than at any point since the 1920s.

Comments

- PeeBee
Interesting comment from HBF. We are building fewer homes simply because there is no demand for them at the prices builders need to achieve to remain profitable. Most of the big builders have mothballed sites left, right and centre in an attempt to ride out the storm - but the storm has overrun the builders' estimates (hopes) of its' length. Now they are having to bring on line those sites in order to make up numbers to take to the City - not because there are more buyers. In addition, increasing requirements for 'sustainability' will lump huge additional cost on the build in coming years - all of which will be paid for by the eventual buyer. The New Homes industry is becoming unsustainable - so where does that leave the market?
- 07 September 2010 11:53 AM