Knight Frank has released its annual Housebuilding report, which states that 86% of housebuilders believe construction of 250,000 additional homes a year is the maximum achievable amount by 2022 - falling 50,000 units short of the government’s 300,000 target. Just 1% of respondents, which include more than 100 developers that account for almost 75% of all newly-built homes across the country each year, think surpassing 300,000 additional homes each year is possible by 2022.

The government is seeking methods to speed up delivery of housing via a review of build-out rates currently being conducted by Sir Oliver Letwin, who published draft analysis stating absorption rates are the key factor limiting the speed of housebuilding in the country. Though the Letwin review focuses on challenges after the planning process is complete, when asked about the barriers to speeding up development our respondents still identified planning as the biggest hurdle, with 39% identifying it as the top issue, although the proportion identifying the planning system as a hurdle has fallen since last year.

Looking ahead, 61% plan to increase the number of homes they build during the next 12 months, but that headline figure hides a split between the outlook of larger housebuilders and SMEs. 92% of large housebuilders (those that build over 1,000 homes per year) plan to increase construction starts this year, however most small developers (57%) intend to decrease activity or leave output unchanged.