London needs at least 50,000 new homes a year - Savills

Published by Brian Church for 24dash.com in Housing

London needs 50,000 new homes a year at the very least to keep pace with demand, according to a report from global real estate services provider Savills.

"Growing demand for homes exceeds the mayor's minimum housing target, which should be at least 50,000 new homes per annum," said Jim Ward of Savills Research, based on the levels of employment growth that are forecast by Oxford Economics.

The report notes that "the flight to prime among developers has left big gaps lower down the market. Builders must expand into more affordable areas to deliver necessary volumes. The planning system must allow the sites to come forward."

Savills also said:

• Failure to deliver would dent London’s competitiveness as ordinary people are priced out. The city’s economic standing depends on its ability to house those who make it tick.
• London’s population is growing faster than the rest of the country. It is expected to exceed its previous 1939 peak of 8.6 million in less than five years.
• So far 56,000 affordable homes have been built since Boris Johnson was elected mayor in 2008. There are 31,000 more in the pipeline between now and 2015. But funding for affordable housing has not been agreed beyond March 2015.

The report backs the mayor's call over stanp duty receipts.

"We forecast a supply gap of 115,000 homes over the next five years across all tenures, assuming that funding for affordable housing is forthcoming at current levels. In this context, the Mayor makes a resonating case for London’s stamp duty receipts to be ring-fenced, to provide affordable housing funding."