Despite repeated government promises to increase housing supply, the number of new homes being started or completed continued to fall in the last quarter of 2021, according to the latest figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

Their data shows building work had commenced on 41,600 homes between October and December 2021. However this was a 3% decrease on the previous quarter, as well as a 3% fall on the number of dwellings started in the same period the previous year.

During this same period there were 41,300 dwellings completed. This is a 4 per cent decrease on the previous three month period and a significant 11 per cent decrease when compared to the same quarter in 2020. This data is from building control figures. 

There are concerns that this lack of supply continues to drive property prices upwards, and is potentially hampering the government’s stated ‘levelling up agenda’.

The government said there was 216,490 net additional dwellings between April 2020 and March 2021, a 11 per cent decrease on the number of net additional dwellings created in the year before. 

In total there were 61,119 new dwelling EPCs lodged in England in the quarter ending December 2021, a 6% decrease when compared to the same quarter last year.

In the 12 months to December 2021 new dwelling EPCs totalled 243,780 — an increase of 13 per cent on the 12 months to December 2020. The department said there was an net increase of 201,850 in the number of domestic properties with a council tax band in England between Aprll 2020 and March 2021. However this increase was 17 per cent less than that seen in the same period of the pervious year. 

Shaw Financial Services founder Lewis Shaw says: “This data perfectly illustrates why our property market is defying all expectations with double digit house price growth. Our property market is firing on all cylinders purely because of a lack of supply, causing an imbalance and forcing prices higher, not because we’ve got a growing economy. The reality is that house prices will likely keep rising until we fix these structural issues and build more quality homes faster.”

Langley House Mortgages director Toby Fields adds: “This report is damning and a huge sucker punch for buyers. The lack of supply of houses is causing astounding competition for each property on the market and therefore driving prices up. We are hearing from local estate agents that there are at least 25 buyers per property and buyers are desperate to purchase, offering hugely over the asking price.  Until there is more of a supply of houses, I cannot see property prices plateauing.”

Harmony Financial Services director Imran Hussain called for the planning process to be looked at in detail to speed up the process for small and large developers.