Reform Needed To Halt ‘Lost Decade’ Of Housebuilding

The UK is at risk of a ‘lost decade’ of housebuilding unless the development industry is reformed, a think-tank has warned. In a new report, the Institute for Public Policy and Research (IPPR) warns that the past two British house building recessions, starting in 1974 and 1990, both resulted in a ‘lost decade’ for housing output. It says there are good reasons to believe the current trajectory of the building sector is “following a similar path to deliver another lost decade for market housing output”. The IPPR says we currently have a housing industry which looks to make large incomes off small volumes of houses. It says if things don’t change housebuilders are likely to use the money, land and guarantees - laid down in the Government’s Housing Strategy - not to build more homes but to build homes in different places. Download a copy of the report from the IPPR website.