How far below the housing peak?

England added 39,991 fewer homes than at its decade peak

Annual net additions in 2024/25 were 16.1% below the 2019/20 high. But the nine English regions reached their peaks in six different financial years.

Matt Lenzie | Construction Capital | 28 September 2026

A historical comparison of 2015/16 to 2024/25 using the fixed 20 November 2025 edition of MHCLG Live Table 118. The 2024/25 figures are provisional.

One national peak, several regional cycles

England recorded 248,591 net additional dwellings in 2019/20, the highest annual figure in this ten-year window. By 2024/25 the flow was 208,600. The difference is 39,991 dwellings, or 16.1% of the peak.

That national benchmark hides different regional timings. London and the North West peaked in 2019/20. The South East, East of England and East Midlands peaked three years later, in 2022/23. Yorkshire and the Humber reached its window high in 2023/24, while the North East, South West and West Midlands peaked earlier.

This matters when describing a slowdown. A comparison with 2019/20 is a common-date comparison; a comparison with each region’s own peak measures distance from different high points. Neither answers every question about housing delivery.

The regional comparisons

The figures below show the peak count and year, followed by the 2024/25 count and percentage below peak. These are annual net additional dwellings.

• London: 45,676 in 2019/20; 32,678 in 2024/25; 28.5% below peak.

• North West: 33,177 in 2019/20; 25,195 in 2024/25; 24.1% below peak.

• South West: 27,293 in 2017/18; 21,064 in 2024/25; 22.8% below peak.

• South East: 42,217 in 2022/23; 34,872 in 2024/25; 17.4% below peak.

• East of England: 30,771 in 2022/23; 26,012 in 2024/25; 15.5% below peak.

• West Midlands: 24,467 in 2018/19; 20,733 in 2024/25; 15.3% below peak.

• North East: 9,838 in 2016/17; 8,337 in 2024/25; 15.3% below peak.

• Yorkshire and the Humber: 21,103 in 2023/24; 18,095 in 2024/25; 14.3% below peak.

• East Midlands: 25,146 in 2022/23; 21,614 in 2024/25; 14.0% below peak.

Why a 16.1% fall needs a 19.2% recovery

The percentage fall uses the larger peak as its denominator. The increase needed to return uses the smaller latest figure. England’s 39,991-dwelling gap is 16.1% of 248,591, but 19.2% of 208,600. This is arithmetic, not a forecast. It does not establish that previous delivery capacity remains available.

London shows the same effect: its 28.5% gap from the peak would require a 39.8% increase from its 2024/25 flow to regain that historical annual level.

Read the measures together

A region can remain below its own peak while taking a larger share of England’s output. Construction Capital’s analysis of regional output and national share explains that distinction. For the path between the endpoints, the companion ten-year Tableau housing dashboard compares annual trends.

These companion resources are by Construction Capital and use related official data. They provide other views of the evidence, rather than independent confirmation.

Data, calculations and limitations

Download the source workbook, 100 observations, ten peak comparisons, chart and reproducible Python code. The archive also includes field definitions, a source manifest, licences and checksums.

Source: MHCLG Live Table 118, worksheet LT118_unrounded, fixed 20 November 2025 edition. The official 2024/25 release gives the statistical context and links to technical notes. This page is a historical analysis, not an estimate of September 2026 activity.

Peak: the largest annual value for each geography in the ten financial years 2015/16 to 2024/25. A financial year runs from April to March. The peak may differ if a wider window or later data vintage is used.

Below-peak percentage: (peak minus 2024/25 value) divided by peak, multiplied by 100. The increase needed to regain peak instead divides the same difference by the 2024/25 value. Calculations use unrounded counts; displayed percentages use one decimal place.

Revisions: 2024/25 is provisional and 2023/24 is revised. Earlier observations through 2020/21 include Census 2021 adjustments. The source’s nine regional counts sum to one dwelling more than its published England total in 2015/16 through 2020/21. Both are retained without adjustment.

Interpretation: annual net additions include new build and other gains less demolitions. A lower annual flow does not mean the housing stock fell. Historical peaks are not measures of housing need, targets, forecasts or evidence of present development capacity. Regional gaps use different peak years and should not be summed to explain the national gap. This descriptive comparison does not establish causes or development viability.

Analysis and visual: Matt Lenzie, Construction Capital. Research reference B001-R30-V06. Government data: Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0. Original analysis and chart: CC BY 4.0. No endorsement by MHCLG or Google is implied.