The prospects of getting an affordable home are looking bleaker than ever for millions of people, a campaign group warned.
The number of new homes built in England and Wales will slump this year to its lowest level since 1923, the National Housing Federation said.
House-builders are on course to build just 122,700 homes between April 2009 and March 2010, 18,000 fewer than were built over the previous financial year, as a result of private developers scaling back developments following the onset of the recession, a spokesman said.
This will be the lowest total since 1923/4, when just 86,000 homes were built, if the war years are excluded, he added.
It will be the second successive year that numbers have fallen significantly, after 2008/9 saw only 140,950 homes built, compared with 176,660 the year before.
The spokesman said: "The building of homes this year has been propped up by housing associations, who are set to build over 45,000 homes in England by April this year - with the aid of record levels of public investment and more flexible government grants via the Home and Communities Agency.
"This will be the highest total achieved by the affordable housing sector for a decade.
"A record 4.5 million people in England are stuck on housing waiting lists and rising unemployment and repossessions has further fuelled demand for affordable housing during the economic downturn.
"But supply has failed to keep pace with demand and the prospects of getting an affordable home are looking bleaker than ever for millions of Britons."
