Propertymark has again urged the UK government to continue with its target of building 300000 new homes in England a year in response to changing demographics.

This follows the publication of the latest Office for National Statistics’ figures, which show that the divorce rate is the smallest it has been since 1971.

They show 80,057 divorces completed in England and Wales in 2022, with Propertymark claiming that “many legal experts have commented that a large number of couples could be delaying ending their marriages due to cost of living pressures.”

Some 113,305 divorces were completed in 2021, which demonstrates that the 2022 number has shrunk by 29.5 per cent since then.

Prior to the Covid pandemic the Office for National Statistics found that there were 108,421 divorces of opposite-sex and same sex couples combined.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive at Propertymark, says: “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 of 300000 new homes to ensure that they can keep up with demand in response to the country’s changing demographics.”

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