Housebuilding Forecasts – Time for Action on Social Housing

Housebuilding is set to rise by 55 per cent over the next five years, according to research published by property consultants Savills. By 2018 they expect output to have risen to 167,000 homes a year, a big increase on current numbers, but still well short of the 240,000 homes needed to meet demand. With housing association output focussed on 'affordable' rented housing, it will be up to councils to meet the demand for housing at social rents which are affordable by those on the lowest incomes, particularly in areas where the gap between market and social rents is wide. If the overall aspiration is 80,000 homes a year from councils and housing associations together, output needs to more than double the expected 2014 total of less than 30,000 completions. Read more on the ARCH website.