Outlook Britain is facing a housing market crisis – but not the one you’ve been reading about over the past year as property prices have headed south. Believe it or not, look past the sea of unsold homes cluttering up estate agents’ windows and you’ll discover that this country faces an acute housing shortage.

David Prosser, The Independent – Friday, 21 November 2008

This is particularly at the affordable end of the market where most first-time buyers are no closer to being able to afford to buy their own homes, despite the 15 per cent drop in the price of the average property.

Moreover, this shortage is about to get significantly worse.

The Government’s target, based on its assessment of the UK’s housing needs, is for the construction of 240,000 new homes every year until 2016. That’s the total needed from public and private-sector builders if there is to be sufficient accommodation to meet demand in the rental and purchase markets. Full Article