Preston unveiled as England's 'newest city' following construction of 2,660 new homes

Across the entirety of England, some 808,770 new homes have been built since 2016, representing 3% of England’s total of 24.7m properties, old and new. As per data released by Unlatch, a platform which helps developers accelerate the new-homes sales process across the country, Preston saw some 2,660 new homes built in the city

With a total of 64,847 dwellings now found across the city, the boost to housing stock in the form of new homes accounts for some 4.1% of the total housing market, representing the highest proportional increase in England ahead of North West-based neighbour Manchester in second with 3.8%.

“New-build homes play a vital role in England’s housing market and the sector is really the primary channel by which we aim to solve the current housing crisis,” said Lee Martin, Head of UK for Unlatch.

“Every incoming government has pledged to boost new-build delivery in one form or another, although it’s fair to say they rarely achieved it, but we’ve certainly seen an uptick in the level of new homes reaching the market in recent years,” he added.

“These are generally focussed around our major urban hubs, but you’d certainly be forgiven for dismissing Preston as the nation’s newest city based on recent new-build delivery in relation to the size of the existing market.”