Housing delivery shrinks 5% in North West
ONS data has revealed that the number of completed permanent homes in the North West has fallen this financial year, although other regions have fared worse.
In the North West, 17,910 properties were completed between 2023 and 2024, compared to 18,910 in the 2022/2023 financial year.
This represents a 5% decline in completed residential builds from last year.
The North West’s five most productive local authorities between 2023 and 2024 were:
- Cheshire East – 1,900
- Manchester – 1,630
- Preston – 1,060
- Knowsley – 810
- Wigan – 800
Bury, Rossendale and Burnley each saw the completion of 130 homes – the lowest figures in the region.
The UK in total, has seen a decline of 13% on the previous years’ completion statistics.
Compared with what was being built ten years ago, there has been a 78% increase in the number of homes reaching completion each year across the North West
In 2013/2014, 10,090 properties were finished across the North West.
However, the North West still falls significantly short of the government’s housebuilding targets.
Labour has promised to deliver 370,000 homes a year across the UK.
The UK is below that target by over a half, with figures totalling 182,200 for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Labour’s current target for the North West is 21,497 homes built, intending to raise the target to around 38,000 going forward.
To meet this target, the North West will have to increase its yearly completed housing figures by 111%.
The North East, despite having the lowest housebuilding figures in England, is one of the few regions that has hit Labour’s regional target of more than 6,100 homes, completing 7,900 across the last year.
In contrast with the North West’s distinct upward trend, housebuilding in the North East and Yorkshire has stagnated over the past five years.
