Planning Applications for New Homes Hit a Five-Year High in Q2 2026, But Only 150,000 Homes Started in 2025

A surge in planning applications suggests developers are gearing up for a wave of new homes, but the volume actually being built tells a very different story. The latest Planning Application Index from TerraQuest, the operator of the national Planning Portal, shows applications for new homes reaching their highest level in years, even as construction starts slide. For anyone following the UK development pipeline, the widening distance between intent and delivery is now the defining feature of the market. ## Applications reach their strongest level since 2022

The headline figures point to renewed confidence at the front end of the development process. TerraQuest reported that housing submissions have reached a multi-year high, with the strongest opening to a year of the current decade.

The data also shows a clear shift towards larger schemes coming forward, changing the shape of the pipeline. Applications for affordable homes held up strongly in the quarter as well, which the operator linked to additional public funding for the sector.

• • 412,130 new homes applied for in the year to 30 June 2026, all regions outside London recording a year-on-year rise.
• • 189,520 housing unit submissions in H1 2026, the strongest first half of the decade.
• • 5,053 affordable housing applications in Q2 2026, the strongest second quarter for that type since the decade began.
• • Average homes per application rose from a dip of 6.8 in 2024 to 12.9 in Q2 2026.

In the year to 30 June 2026, permission was sought for 412,130 new homes, with all regions outside of London recording a year-on-year rise in applications.

TerraQuest Planning Application Index, reported by Show House, 2026

The delivery gap is widening

The optimism at the application stage is not being matched on the ground. TerraQuest set the 400,000-plus annual submissions figure against Office for National Statistics data showing far fewer homes actually started, describing the growing list of stalled or cancelled schemes as a hidden shortfall of homes that may never be built.

Separate Glenigan data reinforces the point, with residential project starts falling sharply in the second quarter of 2026 even as planning approvals ticked up. The message from both datasets is consistent: securing permission is one thing, and getting spades in the ground under current cost and financing conditions is quite another.

What is holding delivery back

Industry commentators point to weak buyer demand, higher construction costs and financing pressures as the main brakes on delivery. Urban brownfield sites, in particular, can be harder to bring forward viably at the scale that larger housebuilders need, which helps explain the trend towards fewer but bigger schemes.

The affordable and social housing pipeline may prove more resilient, insulated to a degree by public funding, and ministers will be hoping that resilience helps maximise completions before the end of the decade. Even so, the gap between the number of homes applied for and the number under construction is a reminder that planning reform on its own does not build houses.

The picture emerging in mid-2026 is one of strong ambition and constrained delivery: plenty of schemes entering the system, far fewer breaking ground. For investors watching the pipeline, the value increasingly lies in understanding which consented sites can realistically progress in the current climate. Silkwood Group will continue to track how the delivery gap evolves through the second half of the year.

Sources

• • Show House, Housebuilding applications surge in Q2 2026 but project starts fall, TerraQuest reports
• • Architects' Journal, Number of units in new housing schemes is up 50%, planning data shows
• • TerraQuest, Planning Application Index
• • RS Bonds Surety, Residential construction starts down by a third but recovery predicted for 2027, Glenigan reports