On our twitter feed we ask the question whether the leasehold model is the answer to the nation’s huge housing needs.  During the referendum, we heard that to keep up with demand we need to build a new house every 7 minutes.  If true, it seems probable that building blocks of flats which can accommodate many more people than a house, would be the way to go.

Not so, according to new analysis released in January from the Home Builders Federation which reveals that the household industry is building bigger homes with more bedrooms and that the number of houses built last year was higher than 10 years ago.  According to the report the number of bedrooms built increased from 385 000 in 2008-2009 to 478 000 in 2015-2016.

This is as a result of a shift to building family homes.  Over the same period the percentage of flats built halved from 50% of new homes in 2008-2009 to 25%.  Houses increased from 80 000 to 120 000.  The average size of a new build increased by nearly 15% from an estimated 801 sq. ft to 918 sq. ft.

Banning Agents Fees – the discussion goes on – due to take place in March/April 2017. See previous blog on this subject.