The National House Building Council (NHBC) has revealed that a total of 36,566 new homes were registered in the first three months of 2016, marking a 9% drop on the previous year’s figures.
28,398 new homes were registered in the private sector – a 7% decrease on the 30,560 a year ago – and the public and affordable sector was down 15% with 8,168 new homes registered compared to 9,584 in Q1 2015.
Despite the overall number being 9% down on the same period last year when 40,144 new homes were registered, for the financial year 2015/16, registrations remained in line with the previous year with 152,329 new home registrations, marginally ahead of the 152,262 registered in 2014/15.
There was also a 10% increase in the number of new home completions for the financial year up to the end of March, compared to 2014/15, with 137,396 completions in total.
Commenting on the Q1 figures, Mike Quinton, chief executive of the NHBC, said: “Our latest statistics show that the industry is consolidating on the strong growth in registrations seen in recent years. Registrations are now around 80% higher than the depths of the financial crisis in 2008/09, driven by increased activity from private sector housebuilders.
“Because of the increase in registrations we are now also seeing the resulting completions come through, as reflected in the 10% rise in the number of new homes completed in the financial year.
“As ever, NHBC’s mission is to ensure construction quality of the very highest standard in new homes across the UK and that this emphasis on quality remains unwavering – particularly during periods of increased activity and production that we have recently seen.”
