ABSTRACT

The most comprehensive attempt to make forward projections of housing demand and the finance needed to meet that demand was made by the Department of the Environment (1977) in the mid-1970s as part of a review of housing policy. The resultant Green Paper, in particular its three-part technical volume, established a framework within which trends could be measured and, for a number of variables, provided for the first time a reliable base of statistical data. The technical volume included a detailed forecast of housing prospects in the medium term, the demand for owner-occupied housing and a projection of the demand for building society advances.