18/02/2025
Everyone blames population growth for the housing crisis, but the real issue. The lack of quality, affordable homes.
Population Growth
1955 UK Population: 51 million
2025 UK Population: 68 million (1.33X growth in 70 years)
1955 World Population: 2.75 billion
2025 World Population: 8.1 billion (2.95X growth in 70 years)
The UK’s growth rate is far slower than the rest of the world—even with immigration.
Falling Birth Rates
1955 UK Fertility Rate: 2.28
2025 UK Fertility Rate: 1.55
The UK is having fewer children than in the past, so demand isn’t skyrocketing due to births.
Households & Housing Stock
28.5 million households in the UK
Average household size: 2.39 people
Compared to Europe:
Germany: 2.0
France: 2.2
Italy: 2.3
Netherlands: 2.2
Poland: 2.6
The UK’s household size is comparable to Europe, so why is housing more of an issue here?
Age & Condition of UK Homes
38% built before 1946
40% built between 1946-1980
16% built between 1980-2000
Only 6% built since 2000 - 2024
78% of UK homes are over 45 years old—many are outdated and energy inefficient.
Poor Housing & Fuel Poverty
2.5 million families live in substandard conditions.
Over 80% of homes rely on gas heating—exposing millions to high energy costs.
UK ranks last in Europe for housebuilding.
Only 160,000 new homes built per year.
At this rate, it would take 15.6 years just to replace the 2.5 million poorest homes.
The Cost of Poor Housing
£18.5 billion per year—the estimated cost of poor housing on the economy.
9X annual earnings—the cost of buying a home in 2025 for full-time employees.
ÂŁ18.5 billion could fund another 160,000 homes per year.
Every £1 spent on construction generates £2.92 for the economy—nearly a 3X return!
The real crisis? Not just a shortage of homes, but a shortage of quality, affordable homes. Affordable Rent, Social Rent, Shared Ownership, First Homes Scheme & Discounted Market Sale. Bring back HTB?
What’s a key issue—affordable housing isn't viable for many developers under the current system. To truly address the housing crisis, the government needs to incentivise developers to build more quality, affordable homes.
Small developers were responsible for an impressive 4 in 10 new build homes, contributing significantly to housing demands. This figure has declined to 12% today.
The top 10 developers deliver 75,000 new homes per year, and the top 35 deliver 100,000 per year. However, to effectively address the housing shortage, we need to build 300,000 homes annually. This calls for a collective effort to support SMEs and empower them to play a more significant role in housing provision.
One of the key challenges faced by SME developers is the blockages in the planning system. These hurdles result in time-consuming delays, which, as the saying goes, “time is money,” affect their cash flow and overall growth.
A one-size-fits-all approach to the planning system won’t suffice.
