A PYMNTS Company

UK’s CMA Launches Market Study Into Competition In Housebuilding

By  |  February 28, 2023

The UK’s antitrust regulator has launched an investigation into the country’s housebuilding sector over concerns that competition is not working properly and could be holding back the supply of new homes. 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would look at whether developers, builders, and other firms involved in housing construction were working together to keep prices high or restrict the supply of new homes. 

Read more: UK CMA Accepts CVS’s Offer To Sell The Vet, Ending Probe

The probe comes amid concerns the government is set to miss its target of building one million new homes by 2020. The CMA said it would investigate whether firms were carrying out anti-competitive practices such as land banking – where developers buy land and then sit on it, limiting the number of new homes that are built.