New figures from 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 also fell in all regions apart from London – with the largest decrease in the north-west – putting Boris Johnson’s aim of ‘levelling up’ at risk.

According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the indicators of new housing supply statistics should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall supply. They show:

• An estimated 148,630 new build dwellings were completed in the year to December 2020, a decrease of 17% compared to the year to December 2019. 
• There were 127,600 estimated new build dwellings starts in the year to December 2020, a 16% decrease compared to the year to December 2019. 
• In the year to December 2020, starts fell in all regions except for London. In London, starts were 11% higher in the year to December 2020 than the year to December 2019. The largest decrease was 27% in the North West.