Written question asked by Damian Hinds (Conservative) on Friday, 2 July 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 July 2021. It was answered by Christopher Pincher (Conservative) on Monday, 12 July 2021 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing: South of England

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of (a) an ageing population, (b) average household size, (c) net immigration and (d) other relevant factors on housing demand in the south of England.

Answer: A number of different factors influence housing demand, and officials monitor a wide variety of indicators to assess trends in housing demand, both at a national and sub-national level. We have previously published analysis on the determinants of house price changes which shows the scale of the effect of, for example, household growth:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/699846/OFF_SEN_Ad_Hoc_SFR_House_prices_v_PDF.pdf

My officials regularly liaise with the Office for National Statistics, who provide estimates of population and household formation which take account of factors such as population demographics.

Secondary information