Demand for London homes returns as supply cuts loom, warns Berkeley boss

Rob Perrins, chief executive of Berkeley Group, has blamed soaring build costs and a “slow and bureaucratic” planning system for a shortage of new homes being built in the capital. He said demand for homes in the capital was back above pre-pandemic levels but warned that supply could halve over the next few years. Perrins said the “flight from the capital has not materialised” as he unveiled a 6.4% rise in pretax profit to £551.5m for the year to the end of April. Perrins said demand had dropped by 25% during the pandemic but this was now fully recovered at a time of very little stock. But he added: “Supply has halved from 2015 and my worry is that it will halve again, the environment has got a lot more challenging going forward.” He said it now takes an average of nine-and-a-half years from buying a plot of land to completing the first house on it. A decade ago, the process took closer to six years. “It is a very complex system and it takes too long,” he said. “I am talking to all the leaders and they are really keen to see housing in their boroughs. The issue is that they just don’t have the [planning] resources to do so.” Evening Standard The Times (£) FT (£)