UK on Track to Miss 1.5 Million Homes Target as Quarterly Completions Lag
Office for National Statistics data show only 38,780 new homes completed in Q1 2025, leaving the programme well below the required build rate to hit the 2029 goal
The United Kingdom is on course to miss its target of delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029 after the latest Office for National Statistics figures showed just 38,780 dwellings were completed between January and March 2025.
To meet the 2029 target, the country would need roughly 300,000 new homes a year, or about 75,000 every three months. The first quarter of 2025 therefore left the programme more than 36,000 homes short of the necessary quarterly run rate.
The ONS data also show that 129,510 homes were completed in the nine months from July 2024 through March 2025, the period following the government taking office in July 2024. Industry figures and analysts have repeatedly warned that current building rates are insufficient to reach the pledged total within the remaining term.
Housing market commentators said the shortfall reported by the ONS was consistent with long-standing concerns in the sector. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, told This is Money that it was "very unlikely" the target would be met, reflecting a widely held view among property professionals.
The ONS figures are the most recent official snapshot of housing completions and are closely watched by policymakers and developers because they measure homes that are fully finished and available for occupation. Completions lag behind starts and planning approvals, so quarterly completion numbers can mask earlier activity in the building pipeline.
Government ministers have previously set out plans to boost housebuilding through changes to planning rules, incentives for developers and targeted investment. The scale of the gap revealed by the Q1 2025 data, however, illustrates the magnitude of the acceleration in delivery that would be required to get back on course for the 1.5 million figure.
Market observers note that achieving a sustained uplift in completions typically requires coordinated action across planning authorities, construction firms, landowners and finance providers, as well as stable economic and labour market conditions. The ONS release does not attribute causes for the decline in quarterly completions.
The shortfall adds pressure to housing policy ahead of upcoming spending rounds and political scrutiny of ministers' ability to deliver major housing pledges. Analysts say future ONS releases will be critical for assessing whether any recent policy measures or market changes are beginning to lift completion rates toward the level implied by the 1.5 million target.
For now, the official statistics published by the ONS show that current completion rates are well below the scale required, leaving the government's 2029 housing aim in doubt and putting renewed focus on the practical measures needed to increase the supply of new homes.