Almost half of new homes built in the next five years will go to migrants, Whitehall estimates revealed yesterday.

Soaring immigration means that England will need nearly 100,000 extra properties a year to house newcomers, said the Department for Communities and Local Government.

However, the calculations may severely underestimate demand because they are based on out-of-date estimates of net migration.

Chancellor George Osborne’s planning adviser Lord Adonis has written of the need for major expansion of towns and cities such as Guildford, Reading, Norwich and Oxford, pictured, which he said should double in size

They also do not account for the impact of children born to migrant families, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The estimate comes on top of a series of warnings about the number of extra homes that cities in southern England will need in coming years.

Chancellor George Osborne’s planning adviser Lord Adonis has written of the need for major expansion of towns and cities such as Guildford, Reading, Norwich and Oxford, which he said should double in size.

Former Bank of England adviser Dame Kate Barker has said 300,000 new homes a year may be needed.

An economist has warned that unskilled migrants, pictured, are damaging the job prospects of British workers

The MigrationWatch think-tank called the latest estimates ‘astonishing’ and warned of ‘serious consequences’ for Britain’s environment and infrastructure.

The Whitehall document suggested that more than two million homes may be required for immigrants by 2037.

Its calculations were based on official estimates drawn up in 2012 that predicted future net migration of 143,000 people a year.