Homes England has reported a significant increase in housing starts and completions between April 2024 and March 2025, with affordable homes making up the majority.
This development is crucial for addressing the UK’s housing shortage, offering more secure options for renters and first-time buyers while boosting economic activity in construction and property sectors.
Rising Numbers in Affordable Housing
The latest statistics from Homes England reveal a promising trend in the UK housing market. With 38,308 new housing starts and 36,872 completions recorded over the past year, there has been a notable increase of 5% in starts and 12% in completions compared to the previous year.
Affordable homes accounted for a substantial portion of these figures, representing 79% of starts and 77% of completions.
This growth is largely attributed to the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-2026, which now delivers an impressive 96% of affordable starts.
The programme’s focus on social rent has led to a remarkable surge of 43% in social rent starts and a corresponding rise of 33% in completions.
Implications for Communities
- Increased access to affordable housing options for renters and first-time buyers.
- Potential reduction in waiting times for social housing allocations.
- Enhanced planning capabilities for local authorities due to clearer funding structures.
- Boosted confidence among construction firms with more contracts available.
- Eased financial pressures on households through improved disposable incomes.
The Government’s Commitment
The UK government has pledged an additional £39 billion over ten years to support affordable housing initiatives.
This long-term investment aims to sustain growth within the sector while providing stability for developers and local authorities alike.
Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Homes England, emphasized the importance of this funding commitment as it offers confidence and certainty across the industry. He said,
“The statistics published today demonstrate the commitment and determination of the sector to build the new homes and communities the country needs.
It also shows the importance of programmes like the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) to enable the delivery of these much-needed homes — and comes hot on the heels of the government committing a further £39 billion in funding to affordable homes over a 10 year period, giving confidence and certainty to the sector.
We’ll be working closely with the government on the operationalisation of this funding over the coming months, alongside other new initiatives such as the creation of the National Housing Bank, whilst continuing to work closely with local leaders to understand local needs, and providers to ensure they have the support to meet that need.”
A Shift Towards Social Rent
The transition from the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing Programme (SOAHP) to AHP marks a strategic shift towards prioritizing social rent over intermediate schemes.
While intermediate affordable housing starts saw a decline of 27%, social rent initiatives experienced significant growth.
This realignment reflects government policies aimed at addressing affordability challenges faced by many UK residents.
Additional Reading
A Final Reflection
The recent achievements by Homes England highlight positive progress towards alleviating the UK’s housing crisis through increased availability of affordable homes.
As government-backed programmes continue evolving under substantial financial commitments like AHP’s £39 billion pledge over ten years, there remains optimism that these efforts will significantly impact communities nationwide by improving accessibility options across various tenures within this vital sector.
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Sources: UK Government, NHBC, and Homes England.
Prepared by Ivan Alexander Golden, Founder of THX News™, an independent news organization delivering timely insights from global official sources. Combines AI-analyzed research with human-edited accuracy and context.
