Sharp rise in new homes according to local government figures

There has been a significant increase in the number of new home being developed in England, new figures show.

According to data released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), 133,650 new homes are currently in the process of being constructed, up 31% compared to 101,670 this time last year.

The rise in new homes comes just two months after George Osborne said Britain had to "get building" in order to boost the supply of much needed new homes and in turn alleviate the widening supply-demand imbalance.

As well as increase the number of new homes being started on, completions have also increased according to the DCLG. In the last 12 months, 112,630 homes were completed compared to 107,820 in the same report last year.

Housing Minister Kris Hopkins said: "It's taking a massive government effort to get Britain building again and today's figures show it's working - in no small part thanks to the measures we've taken to help aspiring homeowners onto the property ladder."

A shortage of new homes is being primarily blamed for the rise in property prices across many parts of the country, particularly in London, as supply struggles to keep a pace with growing demand from national and international buyers.

Last week, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that he would not raise interest rates this year to help cool growing house prices which are preventing many people from being able to afford to buy property because, in his opinion, the crisis is being caused largely by a severe shortage of development in the housebuilding sector.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF, also believes that the construction of more new homes is the only answer to solving the problems caused by the country's housing crisis. "New homes are required in all tenures; for people to buy or rent as well as more new affordable homes," he said.