Propertymark has urged the Government to continue with its target of building 300,000 new homes in England a year, in response to changing demographics.
This followed Thursday’s Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) divorce rate figures.
The latest statistics found that the divorce rate was the smallest since 1971, but with 80,057 divorces completed in 2022, legal experts have commented that a large number of couples could be delaying ending their marriages due to cost of living pressures.
113,305 divorces were completed in 2021, whereas the 2022 number shrank by 29.5%.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the Office for National Statistics found that there were 108,421 divorces recorded.
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said: “These figures demonstrate that there should be an even further increase in demand for housing in the near future once more people feel they can afford to divorce, should they need to.
“Other factors that will affect an increase in demand for housing include the number of separated families gradually increasing, people living longer, and more people relocating to this country.
“It is imperative that the UK Government builds more houses and meets its own target to ensure that they can keep up with demand in response to the country’s changing demographics.”
