11,600 new homes registered in February, reports NHBC

The latest new home figures from NHBC have revealed that 11,597 new homes were registered to be built in the UK in February.

9,124 were registered in the private sector during the month (9,544 in 2017), with 2,473 in the affordable sector (3,713 last year) - broadly in line with registration volumes over the previous two months.

Between December and February 34,811 new homes were registered compared to 36,275 the year before. The private sector increased by 1% with 26,707 new homes registered, marginally up on the 26,430 a year ago. However, the affordable sector fell by 18% over the same period (8,104 v 9,845).

As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC's registration statistics are a lead indicator of the UK’s new homes market.

Commenting on the latest new home registrations statistics, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: "Our new statistics show that while the private sector continues to perform comparably with last year, numbers coming through in the affordable sector are below the record levels seen in 2017.

"As the year progresses, NHBC will continue working with the industry to help raise the standard of new homes, with a strong focus on delivering quality for new home buyers."

NHBC UK statistics for December 2017 - February 2018 show that:

During December ’17 – February ‘18 the number of NHBC new home registrations was 34,811 compared to 36,275 a year ago. Of these:

• 26,707 were registered in the private sector, compared to 26,430 in the previous year.
• 8,104 were registered in the affordable sector, compared to 9,845 in the previous year.

Full regional breakdown of total new homes registered for the rolling quarter December 2017 - February 2018

Registrations refer to the process of a builder registering a new plot/home to be built in the coming months or weeks, to be covered by NHBC's 10-year Buildmark warranty. Completions refer to when a new home is completed by the builder.

Changes can occur between figures published at different times owing to changes in policies and cancellations.

NHBC's role is to support the industry in maintaining and improving the build quality of new homes for homebuyers, whilst providing the benefit of its 10-year Buildmark warranty protection, when required.

NHBC does this through a wide range of activities, from standards setting through technical support to warranty and insurance.

NHBC is a non-profit distributing organisation with no shareholders. It invests any surplus into activities that improve new homes further, in particular through its research arm, the NHBC Foundation.

NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK. NHBC's ten-year Buildmark warranty covers around 80 per cent of new homes built in the UK, having covered nearly eight million homes since it began and currently protecting around 1.5 million homes.