MPs call for more new homes to combat recession

Posted: 25 Feb 2009 12:05:12 GMT

Britain needs to start building more new homes if it is to climb out of the recession while also allowing first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

That is according to a new report from the Communities and Local Government select committee, which has urged the government to commit to the construction of three million new homes by 2020.

The cross-party group of MPs has argued that the economic downturn has prompted the number of homes being built across the UK to be slashed considerably, a situation which needs to be redressed immediately.

Phyllis Starkey, chair of the committee, said: "The credit crunch has not reduced the numbers of households needing new housing, nor does it affect the need to address years of undersupply."

At the same time, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has argued that, in addition to building more homes, the government needs to address the current lack of affordable mortgages for first-time buyers in order to get the market moving again.

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