The latest new-build property market insight from the sector experts, BuildScan, has revealed which areas of the nation have seen housebuilders take their foot off the gas in the last five years where housing delivery is concerned. 

BuildScan’s analysis of housing delivery over the last five years shows that 792,890 new homes have been built across England since 2015, with new housing stock increasing at a rate of six per cent a year on average.

Largest annual rate of housing delivery

The South East is home to the top three areas to have enjoyed the largest average increase in new build delivery during this time. Adur has seen a 286% average annual increase in new homes delivered since 2015, with Gravesham (220%) and Sevenoaks (188%) also enjoying a big boost to housing stock levels.

Harrow has seen the largest boost in London, with an average increase of 175% a year since 2015. Tamworth (88%) and Newcastle-under-Lyme rank within the top 10 for the Midlands, with Craven (82%), Liverpool (69%) and Manchester (68%) flying the flag for the North.

Worst locations for housing delivery

Unfortunately, housebuilders haven’t delivered on all fronts when it comes to new-build housing stock. The London Borough of Bexley has seen the number of new-build homes delivered decline at an annual rate of -35% on average over the last five years. 

Hounslow (-29%) and Haringey (-28%) also rank within the top 10 worst areas, along with nearby Basildon (-23%)

Hinckley and Bosworth (-30%) has seen the second-largest decline overall and the worst performance in the Midlands, joined regionally by Blaby (-19%).

Spelthorne (-21%), Somerset West and Taunton (-20%), Welwyn Hatfield (-18%) and Brighton and Hove (-16%) also sit within the top 10 worst areas for new build delivery in the last five years. 

Interestingly, no areas of the North rank within the top 10. 

Founder and Managing Director of BuildScan, Harry Yates, commented:

“Housing delivery is a tricky subject and while on the one hand, we’re in desperate need of more housing, developers will argue that demand, availability of land and cost restricts them from building more homes in a given area.

In this respect, new build stock levels are going to differ drastically from one area to the next and so a large degree of fluctuation is expected in terms of the actual volume of homes being built. 

Although in many instances the shortfall is planning related, it’s fair to say that over the last five years housebuilders have certainly taken their foot off the gas in some areas and the result has been a pretty consistent freefall in stock delivery.”

Table shows the best and worst areas for new build delivery based on the average annual increase or decrease in new build completions over the last five years
Location	Region	Dwellings completed 2015-16	Dwellings completed 2016-17	Dwellings completed 2017-18	Dwellings completed 2018-19	Dwellings completed 2019-20	Total Stock Delivered	Average Annual Change
Largest average annual increase in new housing since 2015
Adur	SOUTH EAST	40	10	150	30	0	241	286%
Gravesham	SOUTH EAST	50	30	180	1,080	200	1,549	220%
Sevenoaks	SOUTH EAST	60	120	240	190	1,280	1,898	188%
Harrow	LONDON	580	130	1,200	710	680	3,307	175%
Tamworth	WEST MIDLANDS	50	120	270	350	550	1,344	88%
Craven	YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER	140	90	30	140	230	633	82%
Rushmoor	SOUTH EAST	170	330	130	200	600	1,433	72%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	WEST MIDLANDS	110	190	160	120	420	1,003	70%
Liverpool	NORTH WEST	350	760	350	1,220	780	3,463	69%
Manchester	NORTH WEST	710	370	690	2,350	2,200	6,323	68%
Largest average annual decrease in new housing since 2015
Bexley	LONDON	640	330	240	210	100	1,519	-35%
Hinckley and Bosworth	EAST MIDLANDS	990	870	530	360	230	2,979	-30%
Hounslow	LONDON	880	620	580	410	200	2,689	-29%
Haringey	LONDON	710	240	140	240	60	1,389	-28%
Basildon	EAST OF ENGLAND	1,210	270	290	210	220	2,199	-23%
Spelthorne	SOUTH EAST	300	180	130	130	110	849	-21%
Somerset West and Taunton	SOUTH WEST	880	890	730	500	350	3,349	-20%
Blaby	EAST MIDLANDS	630	630	500	380	260	2,399	-19%
Welwyn Hatfield	EAST OF ENGLAND	210	160	160	190	60	779	-18%
Brighton and Hove	SOUTH EAST	230	120	130	150	90	719	-16%
England	N/A	139,710	147,520	160,910	169,500	175,250	792,890	6%
Data sourced from Gov.uk – Live tables on housing supply: indicators of new supply

Ends

Notes to Editors: – 

–          Founder of HouseScan and BuildScan, Harry Yates, comes from a family background of construction and also holds a Construction Management degree. 

–          Having done the basics of the job for a number of years, Harry launched HouseScan four years ago, then started introducing his bespoke technology in 2020 to fulfil the snagging process properly. 

–          HouseScan is the new build snagging experts, using their knowledge, expertise and equipment to ensure your new home is as it was promised. 

–          HouseScan has been employed by thousands of customers buying new build homes from a wide range of different housebuilders. 

–          The HouseScan inspection and report is not only award-winning but more comprehensive than any of their competitors. HouseScan keeps up to date with all industry changes and regulations and they are also equipped with a range of equipment totalling over £4000 each. 

–          www.housescan.co.uk

–          BuildScan is a multi-platform app that allows users to manage defects, snag lists, punch lists, surveys and project workflow in full synchronisation and with unlimited collaboration. Teams or individual users can manage entire projects through BuildScan, assigning and controlling tasks, workflow and much more for effective construction defect management.

–          With BuildScan you can break your projects down into sites, plots and build stages for easy project management, log unlimited snags & defects straight into the BuildScan app, assign these defects as tasks to individuals & contractors within your team, manage and track progress throughout all stages of your project, create, manage & export snagging & inspection reports directly from the app

–          BuildScan launched on the 3rd November 2020.

–          www.buildscan.co