The 1.5 million housebuilding target, set by the Government, is set to be missed by more than 660,000, Savills warns.

The agency is forecasting that new homes completions in England will average 167,500 every 12 months in the next few years, well behind the Government’s target of 300,000.

It means 837,500 new homes in total are set to be built in the five years to 2029/30, according to the new report from Savills.

Fall sharply

The latest figures show new homes completions fell by 4.1% to 190,602 in the year to March 2025, meaning completions have dropped by 10.2% in the two years since the Help to Buy scheme ended.

Savills expects building numbers to fall sharply in the next two years, to just over 150,000 homes in both 2026/27 and 2027/28.

Challenging

Emily Williams, Director of Residential Research at Savills, says: “England’s housing delivery has proven to be reasonably resilient in the face of recent economic headwinds, but the underlying picture is becoming increasingly challenging.

“Low levels of planning consents and starts mean a thinner pipeline of homes under construction, while affordability pressures, higher interest rates and rising development costs are constraining demand and viability.”

First-time buyers

She went on to say that a first-time buyer support scheme could materially improve delivery.

“Under that scenario, completions could rise to 198,000 homes per year by 2028/29 which, though still below the Government’s target, would be enough to maintain housebuilding at the average rate seen over the last decade despite current headwinds.”

The Government has just started a consultation on a new first-time buyer ISA to replace the Lifetime ISA.

More on housebuilding targets