The government will fail to hit its target of the country building 300,000 new homes a year, according to research from property developer StripeHomes.

Its survey points out that in 2017 the government said it would oversee the building of 300,000 new homes a year by “the mid-2020s” in a bid to alleviate the UK’s housing crisis.

However, the Birmingham and Newcastle-based property firm estimates Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration will not hit this target until 2028.

The firm says: “We are now only a few years away from this deadline, and the data shows that the government has only just managed to break the 200,000 homes a year mark, let alone get close to 300,000.”

In fact, it adds, the government was closer to its target in 2006, when it delivered 223,500 new homes.

However, this number tumbled in the years following the 2007 financial crisis and, to date, has not been hit again. The 200,000 mark was only breached again in 2019 when just north of 214,000 homes were built.

The company estimates that this year 235,500 homes will be built in 2021, with around 10,000 homes added to this number each year. At the current rate of progress.

This means the 300,000 new homes target will not be reached until 2028.

StripeHomes managing director James Forrester, says: “The government knows full well how bad the housing situation in the UK is, and they also know that delivering 300,000 new homes every year is a monumental task, not least at a time when global and local economies are in such flux following the pandemic.

“But if we’re waiting until 2028 to reach this much-needed target, we’re waiting far too long, especially when England alone currently has over 93,000 households in temporary accommodation and 1.1 million households currently on the waiting list for a social home.

“Finally, the availability of new homes must also be matched by affordability.

“Yes, prices will fall slightly if supply is increased, but it’s more about ensuring that homes are built in the areas where they’re most needed and being made easily accessible to those people who need them.