Decrease in new home registration

According to the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) latest new home registration statistics, developers registered 40,000 new homes to be built in the UK during the second quarter of 2017.

40,343 new homes were registered during the period April – June, a 1% decrease on the 40,810 registered 12 months ago.

29,123 homes were registered in the private sector, a 7% decrease on the same period a year ago (31,381), with 11,220 new homes registered in the affordable sector, a 19% increase on 2016 numbers (9,429).

The rise in the affordable sector can be attributed to a number of larger Housing Associations developing homes for market rent, private sale and shared ownership along with a rise in joint ventures with the private sector.

Six out of the 12 UK regions experienced growth in registrations, when compared to the same period last year. West Midlands (4,223 +33%), Scotland (3,709 +23%) and Wales (1,345 +56%) were among the regions with most notable growth.

Neil Jefferson, NHBC business development director said: “New home registrations have remained stable in the second quarter of this year, with some areas of the UK seeing significant increases in registration volumes.

“With demand for housing as strong as ever, the growth seen in the affordable sector is particularly encouraging.”