While Help to Buy created thousands of new homeowners, it also created a generation of new housebuilders. But the evidence is starting to suggest that many of these businesses are struggling to maintain momentum in a post Help to Buy world.
Our analysis of Companies House data reveals that the number of housebuilders currently trading in Great Britain fell by 1,507 (or 1.7%) in the year to September 2025. This marked the first annual decline in the number of builders in at least a decade.
As of September 2025, 12,904 housebuilders were either in administration or in the process of being wound up. This figure is 63% higher than in September 2022, and 240% higher than in September 2019, highlighting the growing pressure on the sector.
Rising mortgage rates and construction prices have dampened demand while pushing up the cost of building. At the same time, house prices across some of Southern England have softened, squeezing margins and making it harder to turn a profit. This arithmetic has squeezed some housebuilders beyond breaking point, pushing the government’s housing target further out of reach.
This marks a departure from the Help to Buy-fuelled boom years, when the number of new housebuilders set up peaked at 20k in the year to September 2022. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of housebuilders going out of business this year had been set up during the Help to Buy era (April 2013-2023), suggesting many were unable to adapt to the post-scheme environment.
As a result, the average housebuilder's life expectancy has fallen to just 9.8 years, a figure that has steadily decreased as the number of developers going out of business has risen. Only around 5% of housebuilders currently trading were set up before 2000, typically the largest ones.
Even when conditions are more favourable, housebuilding can be a tough business. It requires significant upfront investment – buying land, sourcing materials, hiring labour - all before a single brick is laid. And when the home is finally sold, often a couple of years later, it needs to fetch a price that makes the venture worthwhile.
The model works well when prices are rising, but when falling, it can quickly become unprofitable. It’s a high-stakes game, and right now, the odds are stacked against many smaller builders.
