By bizn_fun 
Government data is not available on applications received for housing but Planning Portal, which people use to apply to their local council for permission, reported a big rise in the number of new homes requested.
Geoff Keal from Planning Portal said that while applications through their service had gone up, getting to the decision stage can take several months.
“Backlogs mean approvals for this wave of applications may not appear until later in the year,” he said.
Housing market analyst Neal Hudson, of BuiltPlace, said: “Labour hit the ground running with their housing policies last year but the issue is they were trying to fix the wrong problem.
“Housebuilders and developers will not plan for and build homes if there’s no one to buy them. Unfortunately that’s the case given current house price levels and mortgage rates, while the government’s affordable homes programme is underwhelming given the aspirations for 1.5 million.”