New builds 'won't reduce house prices'

Building more new homes might not cause house prices to fall significantly, an industry expert has warned.

Paul Miner, a planning campaigner for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said that more new builds would do little to address the affordability problems in the UK.

He explained: "Actually building houses in itself isn't going to solve affordability problems because new housing stock forms a very tiny proportion of the overall housing stock.

"House prices are set by the existing stock rather than by new builds."

However, Mr Miner acknowledged that more new housing could be good for landlords looking to expand their portfolios - as many of these properties are targeted by investors.

"Most of the new housing that we have built in the last ten to 15 years has just been sold at market rates and often because first-time buyers find it difficult to compete with the market rate now, these new homes are being bought and end up in the hands of buy-to-let investors," he added.

A recent statement from Arla stressed that private landlords had a vital role to play while house prices remain high and many people struggle to get on the property ladder.