ONLY half the homes needed are being built, ministers revealed yesterday, blowing apart their claim that housebuilding targets will be met.

A total of 135,050 homes in England were built over the last year — but this is only 54 per cent of the 250,000 properties that are needed to relieve the housing crisis.

And the new homes are out of reach even for middle-income earners, which means that renting and mortgage costs are unprecedentedly high due to low supply and high demands.