North East experiencing 13,437 shortage of homes

The North East is facing a five-year land supply shortage of 13,437 homes, a new report from planning consultancy Turley reveals.

According to propertywire.com, the report looks at the five-year housing requirement and land supply of all 318 Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in England and Wales. London, however, is excluded from the report. Over the next four years, England and Wales requires at least 1,197,000 new homes. LPAs only have enough land available for 939,000 homes, meaning there is a huge shortfall of 258,000 properties.

However, the North East has the second-smallest shortfall, sitting only behind Wales, which only has a 11,765 shortage of homes. The biggest shortfall is in the East Midlands, where land for another 56,250 homes is desperately needed, reportsplanningresource.co.uk. Around 53,260 new homes in the North East need to be built over the next four years or so and at least 39,823 properties can be constructed on the land available.

John Acres, Turley director, says at least 211 of England and Wales' LPAs won't reach their targets unless something changes.

"The majority of LPAs are falling short of their minimum five year housing land supply requirements, and this has significant implications for the pace of economic recovery," he explains. "It is also likely to impact affordability for first time buyers wishing to enter the market."