HTB comments on housing supply data

27 March 2025

Comment from Neil Leitch, Managing Director, Development Finance, Hampshire Trust Bank

"An increase in housing starts is encouraging. It shows that developers are still finding ways to move forward, despite the wider pressures they face. The question now is how long that momentum can last, especially given the recent drop in planning approvals. Without a strong pipeline of consented sites, start volumes could prove difficult to sustain.

"The Government’s target of 1.5 million new homes is well known, but the route to delivering them remains unclear. The planning system is still a real bottleneck. Local authorities are stretched, and developers - particularly SMEs - are waiting too long for decisions. That’s before you factor in the cost pressures, labour challenges and broader uncertainty facing the market. For smaller housebuilders trying to keep sites moving, those delays can be critical.

"Finance is another key issue. Developers need funding that reflects the way schemes work - often in phases, often with moving parts. It’s no longer about fitting a project into a product. It’s about structuring around what the site needs. Without that kind of flexibility, starts stall and completions get pushed further out.

"We need to look at the whole delivery chain. Planning, funding, and the wider infrastructure need to support each other if we’re going to make consistent progress. Starts matter, but completions matter more. It’s not just about how many get underway. It’s about how many reach the finish line, and how reliably we can keep that pipeline moving."