Could self-build be the solution to the housing supply crisis?

That was one conclusion property exerts came to at a seminar on housing supply.

The seminar, organised by BLP Insurance and the British Property Federation, discussed a wide range of issues from skills shortages to starter homes.

Kim Vernau, chief executive of BLP Insurance, said: “Housing supply has not recovered to pre-recession levels even eight years on, nor is it is looking likely to rise to the target of a million new homes by 2020.

“Several capacity constraints prevent us from meeting needs, including lack of local plan provision, skill shortages, financial weakness in the social housing sector and lack of the mature purpose-built rental and self-build sectors present in other countries. The new Housing and Planning Act addresses only parts of the problem.”

Vernau said the starter homes scheme, where housing built for sale must now include 20% ‘starter homes’ sold to first-time buyers at a discount, will not increase supply and may reduce the supply of affordable rental property.

She said that opening up new land with infrastructure, or intensifying development where infrastructure exists, is possible but hard to finance up front.

Addressing self-build, she said: “Other countries have this as a major source of supply, using small builders, yet we don’t allocate sites for it as they do.

“Our expert panel covered wide ground but were clear that we must be firing on all supply cylinders to meet the million homes challenge.”