House prices rise, simply supply and demand?

How many times have we heard the statistics relating to the current low levels of house building in the UK?
Well some sources suggest that we would need to build a city the size of Nottingham to cancel out the short fall in the number of homes needed to meet the demand for new UK households.
Most of you may be saying ?wow that?s quite a lot?, some may point to the assumption that demand may fall during a period of economic correction like we are currently experiencing. The point is we would actually need to build a city the size of Nottingham JUST TO MAKE UP THE SHORT FALL FOR 2009!
Reports have even made suggestions that by this time next year the shortfall in the number of dwellings needed in the UK could top the one million mark. Studies have made claims Britain is building new homes at the lowest levels for over 80years.
Housing Charities have been lobbying for renewed action to help the hundreds of thousands of people who they claim are living in over crowed conditions because we are simply not building greater levels of homes in the UK.