Drop underlines delivery must rise substantially over next four years if Labour government is to get close to 1.5 million homes target
The total number of new homes delivered in England in 2024/25 has fallen by 6% from 2023-24, according to new government statistics.
The country’s annual housing supply for the past year reached 208,600 units, down on the 221,410 delivered the previous year.
The figure of 208,600 underlines the government has to increase housebuilding substantially if it wants to get near its target of building 1.5 million homes in England by 2029.
The total comprised 190,600 new-build dwellings, 17,710 gains from change of use between non-domestic and residential, 3,850 from conversions between houses and flats and 1,080 other gains from the likes of caravans and house boats. There were also 4,630 demolitions.
Of the completions, 64,762 (30%) were for affordable housing tenures, representing a 1% increase compared to the previous year and the highest delivery figure since 2014-15.
Social rented homes amounted to 12,198, the highest value since 2013-2014.
>>See also: The Social and Affordable Homes Programme prospectuses: what you need to know
There were 58,960 new-build affordable homes delivered in 2024-25, an estimated 31% of the total number of new-build completions in England.
John Guest, national head of social housing at consultancy RSM UK said this uptick is “not nearly enough” to meet England’s affordable housing needs, where “experts estimate 90,000 new affordable homes are needed each year to meet targets.”
He added: “Despite the positive sentiment for social housing growth expressed by the government in this year’s Spending Review, there is still an enormous amount of work to be done, and funding needed, to boost housing supply in the social housing sector. The question remains, when might we see the benefit of the funding promised making its way into the housing supply chain?”
A spokesperson for housing association membership body the National Housing Federation said: “Today’s findings from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that, despite countless challenges for housebuilding, the numbers of new affordable homes are moving in the right direction.”
The spokesperson added that “housing associations look forward to increasing these numbers” when the goverment’s £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme opens for bids in February 2026.
Of the potential 300,000 new homes supplied through the initative, 60% are expected to be for social rent.
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