The National House Building Council (NHBC) has announced that 151,687 new homes were registered in 2016, a slight decrease of 2% compared to 2015 when 155,504 new homes were registered.
The 2016 figures represent a 70% increase in registrations compared to levels seen at the time of the housing crash in 2008/09.
115,689 new homes were registered in the private sector, compared to 117,506 in 2015 with 35,998 registered in the affordable sector, compared to 37,998 the previous year.
NHBC’s latest data also revealed that seven out of 12 regions experienced an increase in registrations, most notably Yorkshire & Humberside (+27%), South East (+14%) and North West (+12%), compared to 2015 figures.
Additionally, the overall UK total excluding London registrations shows a 4% increase on the corresponding figures from 2015, with 134,365 registrations in 2016 compared to 129,744 the previous year, for the UK without the capital.
The number of new homes completed during 2016 (141,175) was also marginally up 1% on 2015’s total (140,407).
In terms of house types, 2016 saw the highest number of detached homes registered in the UK since 2004, with a total of 46,118 being registered and the highest number of semi-detached since records began 30 years ago (38,999).
Commenting on the annual statistics, NHBC business development director Mark Jones said: “Taking into account the extraordinary events of 2016, the UK house building sector has remained resilient, despite initial caution around Brexit. We have also seen some strong regional growth outside of London.
“Both industry and consumer confidence remains high and early signs indicate that the new year has begun positively.”
