More than £88 billion worth of property is sitting empty across England, new data reveals.
Research carried out by House Buyer Bureau found that out of 754,264 vacant homes in England, 303,185 (40.2%) have been long-term vacant for at least six months.
The company collected the data by analysing the number of vacant homes across England, focusing specifically on long-term vacant properties, and then applied the current average house price in each region to estimate the potential value of this unused housing stock.
House Buyer Bureau estimates that these homes represent some £88.6 billion worth of residential property currently sitting unused.
London was identified as the region having the highest estimated value of long-term vacant housing stock (£26 billion), followed secondly by the southeast (£16.1 billion), the east (£10.9 billion) and lastly the north west (£9.4 billion).
Meanwhile the secretary of state for housing Angela Rayner has stated this week there is a “slim chance” the government will meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes over the course of the current parliamentary term.
While increasing the supply of newly built homes remains central to tackling the nation’s housing shortage, House Buyer Bureau says the sheer volume of existing homes sitting empty for prolonged periods highlights another area of housing supply that cannot be ignored.
Managing director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “It’s quite remarkable that we’re constantly talking about the need to build hundreds of thousands of additional homes when more than 300,000 existing properties have already been sitting empty for over six months.
“Of course, there’s no single reason why a property remains vacant and not every empty home can simply be put back into use overnight.
“But anyone who works within the property market knows how easily a home can become stuck in limbo, whether it requires significant work, forms part of an estate, has legal complications or simply proves difficult to sell.
“Building more homes remains absolutely essential, but we also need to make better use of the housing stock we already have. Getting even a proportion of these long-term vacant properties back into circulation would provide additional homes without the need to build them from scratch.
“For owners, the longer a property sits empty, the more of a liability it can become, particularly once maintenance, security and ongoing ownership costs start to mount.
“Where the conventional sales market isn’t providing a solution, owners may need to take a more pragmatic approach. Accepting a lower price in return for the speed and certainty of a quick sale can sometimes be the difference between a property remaining empty indefinitely and getting it back into use.”
