FEWER and fewer new build properties are likely to come to market, an expert has warned.
One of Britain’s biggest housing developers last week said the number they were constructing has almost halved.
Persimmon said it built 1,136 new homes in the first quarter of the year, compared to 1,950 during the same period a year earlier.
It comes in the wake of a surge in mortgage rates which have left would-be first-time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder.
Jonathan Rolande, from the National Association of Property Buyers, said although the figures were concerning they aren’t surprising and signposted a more widespread issue.
He said: “For those trying to get a foot on the ladder, the fact fewer and fewer new builds are coming to market is another barrier to entry.
“But sadly there is nothing surprising about the hesitation to build new properties that may not sell quickly and for the price anticipated.
“Right now, companies such as Persimmon are understandably analysing the potential for plot sales more carefully than ever. They are factoring in the reduced disposable income of buyers during the cost of living crisis and the effect this has on the affordability of mortgages. The end of Help2Buy will have also had an adverse effect.
Mr Rolande added: “A decreased number of new homes being built helps nobody, but the reality is we are likely to see fewer and fewer new builds coming to market between now and the next election.
“We are now very much in a pre-general election stage and parties of all colours are putting forward ways that they think will help to fix the broken property market.
“This is a period of political uncertainty and it has a knock on effect to the decisions of privately run housing companies. The process of buying land, obtaining consent and building a property takes time. Developers may increasingly decide to play it safe and await events politically.
“This is perhaps another reason why there is a strong argument to move housing out of the hands of individual political parties – and create a separate cross party department which develops long term plans which can help solve the property crisis.”
