Number of new homes completed across London plummets by almost 50 per cent
There were just 13,501 new homes with construction completed in London in 2023, down 48 per cent from the number of completions for the same period in 2024.
A new report from property company CBRE warns while there are not enough new homes being built, while the capital’s population was predicted to grow by 148,000 people in the next five years.
“While our capital’s population is tipped to grow, the need for additional housing is not being met with the required supply,” said Sharief Ibrahim, head of residential agency at CBRE.
“Our research shows that many of the borough’s tipped to see the greatest population growth are not ranked in our top ten for delivery of housing.”
Newham ranked first for constructions completed, with 1,218 new homes in the borough according to data sourced by Melinor.
Mayor of Newham Rokshana Fiaz is campaigning to build more homes on the site previously earmarked for the cancelled MSG Sphere arena. The borough currently has the highest rate of homelessness in the UK.
Barnet ranked second for new homes completed, with 1,003, and Haringey came second with 970 new homes built. There were no new homes completed in Richmond Upon Thames or the City of London.
Merton registered only 25 new homes, and Sutton 26.
CBRE also calculated that London will need 17,000 affordable homes built each year, Southwark delivered 510 affordable homes in 2023, the most of any borough, while Croydon completed 270 and Hounslow 230.
A recent report from consultants JLL calculated that there are some 265,000 new homes in the pipeline for London, but 48 per cent of them are still in the planning stages.
New build homes are also proving harder to afford for first-time buyers now that government-backed schemes such as Help to Buy have ended. Savills reported that only 27 per cent of new homes purchased in London now are by those buying their first home.
Meanwhile a report from HomeOwners Alliance warned that over half of aspiring first-time buyers in the UK are giving up on their goal of ever owning a property.
