The region is experiencing one of the worst housing shortages in almost 80 years, with up to 100 families bidding on each new property that comes on the market, a social housing provider has warned.
David McQuade, chief executive of housing provider Flagship Group, said the company receives between 80 and 100 applications whenever a new property becomes available for re-letting, with Norwich and Ipswich experiencing particularly high demand.
Despite already having around 30,000 homes in its portfolio, Mr McQuade said the cost of living crisis and a shortage of properties was creating a “desperate need” for new social housing stock.
He added: “There are a lot of figures around in terms of exactly how many homes we need to build, but the way things are going we will be well short of any of those big numbers.
“A combination of challenges means the number of new homes we’re all building is less than we’d like it to be, and that’s something we all have to grapple with.”
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The cost of construction is one of the biggest hurdles for developers, with changes to building regulations, designed to improve the efficiency of new build properties, making it even more expensive.
Mr McQuade said house builders were struggling to afford additions like heat pumps, solar panels, and electric vehicle chargers, and that current grants and incentives were often not enough to make up the difference.
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He added: “From a social housing perspective we do get significant grants, but inevitably the component parts are still very expensive to install.
“We’ve seen a serious reduction in house builders over the past 10 to 15 years, so we need to see the government doing more to encourage development and building companies back into the marketplace.
“That would help to lessen the reliance on such a small number of housebuilders to make up the stock needed.”
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