Red tape and rising costs stifling new-build availability across the capital

The latest analysis from London estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed how protracted building timelines are preventing the capital’s housebuilders from delivering the level of new-build housing stock required to meet demand, with new homes currently accounting for just 7.5% of all properties listed for sale across London.

Benham and Reeves analysed the latest figures on London’s development timelines, showing that it now takes an average of 25.7 months for a new project to progress from planning application to a spade in the ground. This is two months longer than the previous year and the longest timeline seen in more than a decade.

It’s not just the process of securing planning permission that is slowing the pace of delivery. Even once permission is granted, it currently takes an average of 16.3 months before work begins on site.

This marks a 3.9-month increase in just a year and again represents the longest timeframe seen across the last ten years.

Further analysis of current for-sale listings, conducted by Benham and Reeves, shows how this protracted process is choking off supply.

Across London as a whole, new-build homes currently account for just 7.5% of all available stock listed for sale on the market.

While in some boroughs, such as Newham (12.9%), Hackney (12.8%) and the City of London (12.4%), new homes account for more than one in ten listings, in others the proportion is far lower.

In Richmond upon Thames, for example, new builds make up just 2.4% of current for-sale stock, with similarly low levels found in Kingston upon Thames (2.7%), Redbridge (2.9%) and Havering (3.2%).

Marc von Grundherr, Director of Benham and Reeves, commented:

“London’s housebuilders are more than willing to deliver the homes this city so desperately needs, but they continue to face obstacle after obstacle. From the red tape of planning delays to the ballooning cost of labour and materials, as well as higher borrowing costs and subdued buyer appetite, the challenges are substantial.

The end result is that new homes account for less than 8% of total listings, with some boroughs seeing barely 2% to 3% of their available stock built within the last few years. This is nowhere near the level of delivery required in a city of London’s size and demand.

The good news is that 2025 already looks to be a year of greater momentum. As market confidence improves and more developers are encouraged to bring schemes forward, we should begin to see a healthier pace of delivery and a growing share of new-build homes hitting the market.”