New figures today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government show a fall in both the number of new build homes started or completed during 2020, putting the government target of building 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the decade in doubt.

Starts fell in all regions except for London where they were 11 per cent higher. 

The largest decrease was 27 per cent in the North West.

Property and consultancy McBains’ managing director Clive Docwra says: “Covid has no doubt had an impact on housebuilding rates, but it’s clear that even with starts and completions increasing in the last quarter of 2020 as construction sites fully returned after lockdown, that housebuilding is still way off the rate needed to meet the government’s target.

“They also show the challenge of levelling up disparity between the number of new homes in London compared to other parts of England, especially the north.

“The volume housebuilders won’t be able to deliver this target on their own, so the government needs to support small and medium-sized housebuilders to help meet the target, and also ensure that it delivers on its rhetoric to cut red tape and speed up ‘permission in principle’ for new homes.”