The housing market is in an extremely unique place, with the supply of new affordable housing a major concern for a lot of first-time buyers when they get in contact with a local estate agent.
There is some degree of progress designed to help people get onto the property ladder; mortgage rates have plummeted, and preliminary alterations to affordability criteria have been approved. This means that more people will be able to afford to buy than has been the case in recent years.
However, a fundamental change that is expected is a significant increase in the construction of new affordable housing, but as of June 2025, that has yet to completely manifest, according to data compiled by BBC Verify.
On a national level, there have been eight per cent fewer homes constructed (as determined by homes that received their first Energy Performance Certificate) compared to 2024. In Leicester, there are dozens fewer homes added than in previous years, according to the same BBC Verify data.
However, some context is required for this, as major policy shifts in fields such as construction and housing can take a long time to translate to changes in house prices and in the rate of construction.
One of the factors that facilitated a spike in house prices from 2020 was huge demand inflated by cuts to stamp duty, but with a lack of supply and a construction process that had remained low for a long time
The most recent targets for 1.5m homes over five years, higher than the post-war mass-rebuilding project (which provided 1.2m in six years), equate to a rate of construction not seen since the 1960s.
The number of planning applications granted has significantly increased over the past year by 49 per cent, highlighting that housing projects are being designed, developed and constructed, but the benefits will only be seen by new homeowners years down the road.
