Current House Building Volumes Must Double to Meet Labour’s 1.5m New Homes Pledge, Says NHBC

29,281 new homes were registered to be built in Q2 2024, down 23% on Q2 2023 (37,861). 33,847 new homes were completed in the same period, 6% down on Q2 2023 (36,145). Quarter-on-quarter, NHBC’s new home registrations and completions are tracking positively, up 34% and 29% respectively. Whilst this uplift is encouraging, the present quarterly rate will need to more than double to deliver Labour’s pledge of 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

Steve Wood, CEO at NHBC commented, “We welcome the new Government’s policy to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years, even if our new build registration numbers show there is a mountain to climb. Scaling up will take time but we can be encouraged by the Government’s announcements on new home-buyer incentives, changes to the planning system and investment in infrastructure, including power grids, water supply and roads.

“In addition, more must be done to close the national skills gap. With an ageing workforce, a lack of skilled workers could seriously slow down Labour’s plans.”

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