On London Extra: Housing crunch

The greater the demand, the smaller the supply. Plus capital's schools top social mobility chart, government echos Gove, Tories overtaken and much more

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On Tuesday, during a visit to north Fulham, I came across a most unusual sight. It was a construction hoarding behind which - and, yes, this too I saw with my own eyes - actual new homes were being built.

The 42 properties in question are the work of Hammersmith & Fulham Council. They aren't the only ones coming out of the ground across the metropolis, but they are a rarity at the very time national government has set a huge target for new homebuilding in the capital.

Such has been the slump in supply that, earlier this week, the G15 housing associations group reported a two-thirds drop in the past two years and the government has cut the Mayor's affordable homes target to give him a better chance of hitting it. On top of that, London Councils has said borough building programmes are in danger of collapse unless the government enables them to raise more money from rents.