Why has housebuilding collapsed in London?

Housebuilding in London has slowed sharply rather than collapsed, and the reason is mostly arithmetic. When land prices, borrowing costs and build costs all rise at once, the sums on a new development stop working. Developers run viability models before committing to a scheme, and if projected sale prices no longer cover land, finance, materials, labour and profit, they pause or walk away. That is what has happened across much of the capital.

Planning adds friction on top. Large schemes sit through design reviews, consultation rounds and affordable housing negotiations that can stretch to years, and every month of delay adds finance cost. That pushes more schemes below the line. There is no single villain here, just several pressures stacking up at the same time.

For homeowners the picture is different. The work we do (extensions, loft conversions and renovations of Victorian terraces and Edwardian semis across South East and South West London) has carried on throughout. When fewer new homes get built, moving gets harder, so more families in Dulwich, Sydenham and Beckenham improve the house they already own. A side return or dormer loft goes through householder planning or permitted development, not the machinery a 200-flat scheme faces. If you are weighing up moving against improving, we survey the property first and give a fixed written quote, so you know the real cost before you decide.