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West Midlands · report

New homes in West Midlands

16.8% fewer homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.

Started, 12 months
12,150
Per 1,000 residents
2.0

Homes started in West Midlands

Homes started over the previous 12 months, at each quarter.

  • West Midlands
  • Ten-year average
Show the numbers
PeriodWest Midlands
Jun 202612,150
Mar 202612,140
Dec 202512,020
Sep 202510,800
Jun 202510,340
Mar 202510,240
Dec 20249,480
Sep 20248,460
Jun 20247,320
Mar 202411,670
Dec 202313,240
Sep 202314,970
Jun 202317,980
Mar 202315,850
Dec 202216,580
Sep 202216,960
Jun 202216,420
Mar 202216,210
Dec 202117,100
Sep 202117,560
Jun 202117,460
Mar 202114,500
Dec 202013,000
Sep 202012,710
Jun 202013,380
Mar 202015,760
Dec 201916,850
Sep 201917,100
Jun 201916,870
Mar 201917,280
Dec 201817,040
Sep 201816,490
Jun 201816,370
Mar 201816,140
Dec 201716,280
Sep 201716,370
Jun 201716,880
Mar 201716,130
Dec 201615,060
Sep 201615,020
Jun 201613,920
Mar 201613,680
Dec 201513,790
Sep 201513,080
Jun 201512,640
Mar 201512,860
Dec 201412,530
Sep 201412,110
Jun 201411,680
Mar 201410,980
Dec 201310,200
Sep 201310,030
Jun 20139,560
Mar 20138,450
Dec 20128,340
Sep 20128,080
Jun 20128,150
Mar 20128,410
Dec 20118,080
Sep 20117,930
Jun 20117,620
Mar 20118,140
Dec 20108,640
Sep 20108,850
Jun 20108,990
Mar 20108,150

A start is the first count of a new home in the UK: no nation counts homes granted planning permission. Most starts are finished one to two years later. England's and Wales's counts come from building control, which misses some homes; Scotland counts housing association approvals as starts; Northern Ireland's begin in 2015.

Other reports for West Midlands

Next 12 months

Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between £237,774 and £268,453 by August 2027.

Expected, August 2027
£253,114
Chance of a rise
58%

Affordability

At the average sale price, a home costs £250,731. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £1,157 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.

Payment, two incomes
19%
Payment, one income
37%

Buy or rent

Renting the average home costs less each month than owning it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.

Rent per month
£983
Owning per month
£1,181

Foreign buyers

Figures for United Kingdom: West Midlands has no reliable figures of its own.

Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.

Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
1.8%

Past cycles

Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 9 times since 1968. The deepest began in August 2007.

Deepest fall
−17.4%
Recovery from the low
76 months

People and new homes

In 2025 the population grew by 23,968 while 11,900 homes were finished: 2.0 new residents for every new home.

New residents per new home, 2025
2.0
Population change, 2025
+23,968

Empty homes

4.6% of the 2,551,095 homes counted in the 2021 census had nobody usually living in them.

Empty, 2021 census
4.6%
Empty homes
117,040

Renovation

In 2025, 11% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.

Homes from existing buildings, 2025
11%