Government Reports England Becoming Increasingly Crowded

LONDON-The annual 2001 compendium of statistics covering all aspects of housing shows that the number of dwellings in England has increased 7% on 1991.

According to surveys of local authorities and central Government, at the end of March 2001 there were 21.1 million dwellings in England, an increase of 1.46 million, or 7%, on the number at the end of March 1991. Some 14.8 million, or seven out of ten, were owner occupied and 4.2 million, about one fifth, were rented from a local authority or a registered social landlord. The remaining 2.2 million were rented privately.

New dwellings completed in England during the financial year ending 31 March 2001 number 135,000. Of these, 117,000–or nearly 9 out of every 10–were built for owner occupation with nearly all the remainder being built for registered social landlords.

In mid 2000, it is estimated there were nearly 21 million households in England, about 21% more than that recorded in 1981.

In 2000, the average price of all dwellings sold in England was £107,000 ($154,915)–for new dwellings it was higher at £131,000 ($189,662). House prices in 2000 were about 15% higher than in 1999, with regional price rises ranging from 19% in the South East to 4% in the North East.

Results from the Survey of English Housing carried out in the year to the end of March 2001 showed that 2.3 million households (11%) had moved in the year prior to interview. Moving households included 42% of private renters, 11% of social renters and 7% of owner-occupiers.