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Government plans to build 2 million homes by 2016 have been all but abandoned, the new chair of the Homes and Communities Agency has admitted to 好色先生TV.

Robert Napier, in an exclusive interview, said it was now 鈥渢oo difficult to tell鈥� whether it was still possible to build 2 million homes before 2016, because of the sharp decline in the housing market since the credit crunch hit.

However, he insisted it was still possible that the government鈥檚 target of building 3 million by 2020 would be hit. Prime minister Gordon Brown set the two targets last July in order to ease the housing crisis.

Napier said: 鈥淐an we build 3 million by 2020? Yes, probably. I鈥檓 not going to get quoted on the 2016 target, it鈥檚 too difficult to tell. All I know is that we need to.鈥�

Housing minister Caroline Flint and HCA chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake have previously failed to confirm that the government still aims to meet the 2016 target, instead restating the 2020 target. Napier said: 鈥淎bsolutely they talked about 2020.

Well, I鈥檓 going down the same route. But that鈥檚 just being realistic. It鈥檚 not a failure. We want to get as many houses built as we can sensibly do.鈥�

Napier has already said that regeneration agency English Partnerships, of which he is also chair until it becomes the HCA later this year, was looking to renegotiate its housing targets with the communities department in the light of the credit crunch. He again refused to say exactly what the new targets would be, but said: 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say they were going to be down unless they were going to be down by a number that would be noticed.鈥�

Napier was speaking in advance of this week鈥檚 government announcement of a rescue package for the housing market.