The 2010s will see the lowest number of new houses built in England since the Second World War, according to analysis from think tank CPS. This is reportedly part of a 50-year pattern, in which each decade has seen fewer new homes built than the last.
New build housing completions in England between 2010 and 2019 are set to be approximately 130,000 per year, accord- ing to CPS. That is significantly lower than the 147,000 of the 2000s, 150,000 of the 1990s, and half the level seen in the 1960s and 70s.
CPS states that in the 1960s, the new build construction rate in England was roughly the equivalent of one home for every 14 people over the decade. In the 2010s, that ratio was one to 43, more than three times higher.
The figures could be improved somewhat by factoring in conversions of existing properties said CPS, but even then the net additional dwellings is reportedly likely to be lower this decade than last.
Across the UK as a whole, the pattern is broadly similar, with housebuilding falling from a peak of 3.6 million new units in the 1960s, to 1.9 million in the 1990s and 2000s, with the 2010s set to come in lower still.