End of year boost for housebuilding sector, reports NHBC

More than 16,000 new homes were registered to be built by the UK’s builders and developers in November according to NHBC’s latest figures, 7% more than a year ago (November 2018: 15,158).

16,175 new developments were registered, with 10,662 in the private sector (11,036 in 2018) and 5,513 in the affordable and rental sector (4,122 in 2018).

For the rolling quarter, between September and November, 44,361 new homes were registered compared to 43,655 in 2018 – an increase of 2%. During this period there was a 7% decrease in the private sector, with the affordable and rental sector growing by 28%, reflecting continued investment in the private rental sector.

The West Midlands (+53%), London (+34%) and the Eastern region (+30%) were the fastest growing regions over the latest three-month period.

NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK and its registration statistics are a lead indicator for the new homes market.

Commenting on the latest figures, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “As we near the end of the year, it is good to report resilience in new home numbers, which should give some confidence going into the New Year.

“As ever, construction quality is central to everything NHBC does. We will keep working with the sector to help improve new home quality for the benefit of consumers.”

Further NHBC new home statistics can be found at 40 facts: homes, housing and house building today.

NHBC UK statistics show that:

• During Sept ’19 – Nov ’19 the number of NHBC new home registrations was 44,361 compared to 43,655 a year ago
• 30,416 were registered in the private sector, compared to 32,737 in the previous year
• 13,945 were registered in the affordable and rental sector, compared to 10,918 in the previous year.

Full regional breakdown of total new homes registered during this period:

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 ten-year Buildmark warranty. Completions refer to when a new home is completed as indicated by NHBC inspectors.

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

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. NHBC is a non-profit distributing organisation with no shareholders.