Government 'will miss new property targets' Published: 07/10/2008

The government will miss its new property target by around 50 per cent next year, according to new research.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), just 100,000 new properties will be built next year – half the amount the government had hoped for.

The institution said that the government will not be able to meet its target of two million properties by 2016 because of the economic downturn.

In order to meet the target, around 200,000 homes would have to be built every year, but so far this year just 66,200 new properties have been constructed.

The targets have been hampered by overall construction workloads falling at their fastest rate ever recorded. Around 38 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise than a fall.

Oliver Gilmartin, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: "With finance for projects becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the government's ambitious target of two million new houses a year by 2016 is likely to fall well short.

"At current levels of production the number of new homes built will fall below 100,000 in the coming year."

Search now for properties for sale  © Copyright.