The latest figures relating to house building suggest the government is still a very long way from meeting its long-term targets.

Within that landscape, it appears that demand for private rentals is likely to remain strong for some years. There simply are not enough homes for current tenants to be, and those that are available are viewed by many as being unaffordable.

Data from Glenigan, a respected industry house-building monitor, shows what it calls “ a bleak picture of continuing decline, with the impressive performance increases observed over spring and summer now feeling like a distant memory.”

It says performance fell in both the residential and non-residential sectors, adding: “The former [that is, residential] was hardest hit, plummeting by around a quarter against the preceding three months (-26%) and last year (-24%), respectively.”

In detail, private housing fell 25% during the Index period and 23% compared to the previous year. It was a similarly disappointing story for social housing, with activity slashed by over a quarter (-29%) to finish 24% lower year-on-year.

Glenigan Economic Director Allan Wilen says: “Signs in the middle of the year have once more given way to further decline. Of course, there are several different factors at play. Looking at the residential market, project starts have faltered over the past quarter, which, perhaps, reflects the slower-than-anticipated recovery in house purchaser confidence, coupled with ongoing developmental delays.”

Separately a survey by property portal OnTheMarket suggests that almost half of the public (47%) believe the government’s target of 1.5m new homes by 2029 is unlikely to be met.