Planning permission was granted for just 44,520 new homes in England during the second quarter of this year 鈥� a 17% drop on the same quarter last year.
This is the lowest quarterly figure recorded since 2012 and, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF), provides another sign that weaknesses in the housing market and rising taxes on new homes continue to suppress investment in new housing sites.
New housing secretary Steve Reed has taken over the portfolio of Angela Rayner, who left government last week after failing to pay the required stamp duty land tax on a property purchase. These numbers highlight the scale of the challenge facing him to deliver on Labour manifesto promises.
The HBF鈥檚 latest Housing Pipeline report, based on data from Glenigan, shows just 1,410 sites were approved between April and June 2025, marking the 10th successive quarter of decline. In total just 8,200 sites secured permission in the 12 months to June, the lowest rolling outturn recorded since the data series began two decades ago, and fewer than half the number of sites that were granted permission during 2019.
The Housing Pipeline report also shows that the rolling annual number of homes permissioned in England stood at 221,900 in the year to June 2025, meaning that investment in new housing sites has slumped to the lowest 12-monthly rate in 12 years. To meet the government鈥檚 pledge of delivering 1.5 million homes by 2029, an estimated 370,000 permissions per year are required, on average. However, current approval rates are at just 60% of that target, the HBF said.
At the same time, the number of housing projects granted approval in the last year has dropped to 8,218. This is the lowest yearly total since the Housing Pipeline Report began in 2006 and is barely more than a third of sites approved annually in the latter half of the 2010s, when investment in new housing supply was at its peak.聽
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 figures reflect the true state of play for the home building industry. Mounting pressures are limiting viability as rising regulatory costs and taxes are being compounded by delays in processing planning applications making it increasingly challenging to operate, particularly for the nation鈥檚 smaller builders. Meanwhile, a lack of affordable mortgage lending is suppressing demand for new homes, particularly amongst young people. Without any government support for first-time buyers for the first time in decades, the potential market for new homes is being limited.
鈥淭his research highlights the fragility of the housing pipeline and a continued downward trajectory that shows little sign of changing soon. Without meaningful action to tackle constraints on housing delivery, the early confidence that industry placed in the government will undoubtedly begin to wane.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 needed now is decisive action to tackle broader market constraints. Ministers need to look beyond tweaks to the planning system and take a proper look at the market fundamentals that ultimately determine how many homes can be built.
鈥淚nvestment in new homes depends on the building of those homes being economically viable and for there to be a realistic chance of selling new homes. Loading more and more taxes on home building is working against the overarching objectives of the government to build more homes.鈥�
The HBF Housing Pipeline report can be downloaded at
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