HBF hopes Welsh Government will extend Help to Buy Wales beyond March 2027

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has used its Autumn 2026 parliamentary newsletter to say it hopes the Welsh Government will extend Help to Buy Wales beyond 31 March 2027 and to back a moratorium on new policy costs for home builders.

The trade body, which says its members build about 80% of new private homes in England and Wales, welcomed the six-month extension of the scheme but said it hopes "the scheme will be extended beyond March so it can continue to support home ownership and new supply".

The extension was confirmed in a Written Statement on 27 July 2026 by Siân Gwenllian MS, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning. The Welsh Government said it would support up to 400 additional households into home ownership. The Empty Homes Grant was extended at the same time to support up to a further 300 properties being renovated.

HBF said that since its introduction Help to Buy Wales has supported the purchase of around 15,000 new homes, helped 11,000 first-time buyer households and generated a return to the Welsh Government of more than £40m.

Affordable delivery

The newsletter draws on Welsh Government figures which record 3,865 additional affordable housing units delivered across Wales in 2025-26. The Welsh Government said this was a 6% increase on the previous year and the highest total since data was first recorded in 2007-08.

HBF's newsletter puts the private sector's share at 31% of new build affordable homes. In its own response to the figures, HBF said 823 affordable homes were delivered by the private sector through Section 106 agreements, which it said represented 21% of total affordable delivery and 31% of new build affordable homes once acquisitions and conversions of existing properties are excluded.

Over the past five years, HBF said, Section 106 obligations have delivered 35% of all new-build affordable homes in Wales, an average of 860 a year. Catherine Williams, HBF's planning director, said the figures show private home builders are instrumental in achieving the Welsh Government's ambition to deliver more social and affordable homes.

The Welsh Government said delivery towards its social housing target between April 2021 and March 2026 reached 17,236 units, and that local authorities plan 4,034 affordable units for delivery in 2026-27.

Permissions and need

HBF's Housing Pipeline report, based on Glenigan data, found 5,900 new homes received planning permission in Wales in the year to June 2026, up from 5,600 in the year to June 2025.

Period	Homes granted permission
Year to June 2025	5,600
Year to June 2026	5,900

HBF said the annual total is just 68% of the 8,700 homes a year the Welsh Government's own estimates identify as needed. The Welsh Government's 2025-based estimate, first published on 12 February 2026, puts newly arising need at between 7,300 and 9,800 units a year over July 2025 to June 2030, with a central estimate of 8,700. It estimates around 65% of that need is for market housing and around 35% for affordable housing.

HBF attributed what it called the continued deterioration in housing supply to poor Local Development Plan (LDP) coverage, weak market demand and rising construction costs. It is calling for full LDP coverage across Wales, with measures to let sites come forward where plans have expired or are out of date.

SME pressures

The newsletter also cites findings from the 2026/27 State of Play report by Close Brothers Property Finance, HBF and VELUX. The report found 63% of SME home builders have delayed progressing a site or put work on hold, and 41% have made redundancies or cut their contracted workforce. It found 82% now cite viability as a major barrier to growth, up from 64% a year earlier.

HBF estimates taxes, regulatory compliance and higher build costs have added £76,000 to the cost of building a new home since 2020. The report calls for a moratorium on new policy costs, taxes and levies.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive of HBF, said of SMEs: "Excessive complexity, rising costs and lengthy delays continue to constrain their ability to deliver new homes".

Phil Hooper, chief executive officer of Close Brothers Property Finance, said: "There is no doubt that the current market is one of the most challenging in decades."

Community investment and SuDS

HBF's community-investment release estimated the 5,159 homes completed in Wales in 2025/26 generated £1.1bn in economic activity, £230m for affordable housing, £32m for infrastructure and about 18,000 jobs. The newsletter rounds the total to 5,200 homes and says the infrastructure sum includes about £14m for schools, providing 800 school places, with £150m of spending in local shops and about 200 apprentices, graduates and trainees among the jobs supported.

The newsletter also refers to a report by HBF and Brookbanks setting out recommendations to fix the sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) framework the Welsh Government introduced in 2019.

Help to Buy Wales is currently due to run until 31 March 2027.