The property consultancy Bidwells says that based on an average 300,000 new homes a year it could be four decades before the housing shortfall in England is resolved.
The firm, working from data produced in conjunction with the Office for National Statistics, claims England has a housing shortage of 2.5m homes, and that 550,000 new homes need to be built each year between now and 2031 to clear the backlog and allow for future population growth.
It says that at 300,000 a year by the end of the next parliament - the figure put forward by some political parties - the housing shortfall would not be solved for another 40 years.
The research forms part of Bidwells’ new report, The Productivity Engine, which looks at key barriers holding back UK productivity growth as one of Europe’s most restrictive planning systems and a lack of public sector investment in housebuilding entrenches the shortage.
Bidwells says England is the only major country in Europe where the average number of people per household has not fallen in the last 20 years. This is because high rents and house prices mean that young adults are having to delay leaving home.
It adds that building new homes would help relieve the pressure on government finances. Support for low-income families living in private rented housing has jumped by 50% over the last five years to £13 billion.
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