You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
New home registrations up 6%
New home registrations in the UK rose by 6% last year, from 152,017 to 160,606, according to statistics from the National House Building Council (NHBC).
The organisation’s release for the end of the year showed that registrations in the ‘affordable’ sector – which for the NHBC includes the private rented sector – has increased by 14% to 41,781, the highest yearly total for the NHBC since electronic records began 30 years ago.
New home completions also increased by 4%, from 141,685 in 2016 to 147,278 last year.
The figures differ from government statistics on net additions, which recorded 232,317 completions for 2016/17 as they include only newly built homes, not acquisitions or conversions.
READ MORE
More than 30,000 new homes were in areas where they were not needed, according to government formula
The NHBC takes registrations from builders before they start work on homes, meaning their statistics act as a guide for where the market could go in future. Builders must start work 21 days after they register.
The greatest growth was outside London, with the East Midlands and Wales growing by 19% and the North West by 12%.
London saw only a slight increase, with registration numbers rising from 17,587 to 17,850.
This was, however, the first increase in the capital since 2014, which was mostly driven by a surge in registrations in November and December – in which there was a huge 38% increase on the same months in 2016.
Steve Wood, chief executive of the NHBC, said: “Our figures show the market has delivered strong growth resulting in the highest new home figures for a decade and growth across the majority of the UK, including London for the first time since 2014.
“Looking ahead, NHBC will continue to work with the industry to help raise the standards of new homes. With 6% growth in the quantity of new home registrations, the focus on delivering quality for consumers remains critical.”
