The poll of 120 property finance brokers found that just 4% believed that the government’s housing target of 300,000 new homes each year by the mid-2020s was achievable, if the status quo was maintained.

More than a quarter of respondents (29%) believed the target was totally unrealistic.

Two-thirds (67%) stated that it was achievable, but only with substantial improvements to the planning process and land availability.

Noel Meredith, executive director at United Trust Bank (pictured above), said: “It’s easy to blame the housing shortage on developers hoarding land, then sitting back and watching it increase in value, while the country cries out for new homes.

“However, the reality is more complex.

“National housebuilders will have land stocks for a number of reasons.

•   UTB funds £1.5m west London site purchase
•   Not enough lenders fund land acquisitions, say 85% of professionals
•   Over 423,000 homes with planning waiting to be built

“Naturally they want to maintain a future supply of developable sites and, given the time taken to take land from no planning, into a local plan and then to full planning, this could be a considerable amount of land.

“National housebuilders mainly develop large sites of several hundred units and these cannot be built out in one go for logistical reasons and because they need to try to match supply to demand.

“SME housebuilders generally don’t have the resources to allow them to sit on land for prolonged periods.

“In my view, though, if the government can solve the problems with the planning system and encourage local planning offices to support developers rather than put obstacles in their paths, the fact that development land may be owned for some time before building commences will be of much lesser consequence.”