Fewer than 750,000 affordable homes built in last 30 years

Fewer than one in five new homes built over the last 30 years have been classed as ‘affordable’, according to a new analysis.

The analysis by the new build house snagging company HouseScan found that just 721,930 affordable homes have been delivered by the housing association or local authorities in the last 30 years – equating to just 16.8% of all new homes in England.

According to the study, London has seen the highest level of affordable housing delivered. Almost a third (30.1%) of new homes in the capital have come via a housing association or local authority, with the region accounting for 22.7% of all affordable housing delivered in England in the last 30 years.

And affordable housing accounts for 18.6% of all new homes delivered in the South East with the region accounting for 19.4% of all new homes in England.

But just 10.6% of new housing stock built across Yorkshire and the Humber since 1990 has been classed as affordable, while the North East has accounted for just 3.7% of total affordable housing delivered in England during this time.

‘It’s fair to say that while the delivery of 4.3 million homes in the last 30 years is admiral, there seems to be a clear north-south divide in terms of the sheer volume of new homes built, as well as a tendency to overlook affordable housing,’ said HouseScan managing director and founder, Harry Yates.

‘The total of new homes built in London and the South far exceeds that of the Midlands and North of England and the same applies when looking at the delivery of affordable housing.

‘While London rarely grabs the housing headlines positively where affordability is concerned, the capital has seen the highest number of affordable homes delivered in the last three decades. Of course, as by far the least affordable pocket of the market, the requirement is still far greater than the delivery.’

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