MHCLG dwelling stock estimates just released shows that the creation of new homes is on cue to hit a ten-year high in percentage terms. Contributor Joseph Daniels, Founder – Project Etopia.
This ten-year high for the creation of new homes in percentage terms is a welcome milestone, appearing as it does in the long shadow of ambitious house building pledges set out by the government at the last election.
That manifesto commitment equated to nearly 200,000 new homes a year, though there remains a question mark over whether the Tory pledge related to the building of new homes or just the ‘delivery’ of new stock, which can include the creation of new homes through other means including change of use.
However, even if the government was to argue all additional dwellings count towards the manifesto commitment, the rate of progress is still too sluggish to render its commitment for a further 500,000 homes by 2022 a safe bet.
The country is moving in the right direction, just not quickly enough, so it may take further incentives or policy changes to inject a bit of urgency into the growth in these figures.