New home registrations fell 0.5% year-on-year in 2018, industry figures show

The number of new-build homes being registered fell by 0.5% year-on-year in 2018, industry figures show.

Across the UK, developers registered 159,617 new homes with the National House Building Council (NHBC) over the year, a 0.5% decrease compared with 2017, the NHBC said.

It said the figures show the “resilience of the UK house building industry”, despite extreme weather conditions and political and economic uncertainties.

The NHBC’s registration figures are taken from builders who are responsible for around 80% of homes constructed in the UK.

Builders are required to register a house with the NHBC, a warranty and insurance provider, before starting work, which means its figures represent homes to be built in the months ahead.

The NHBC said home registrations in the private sector were down by 1% in 2018 compared with 2017, while those in the affordable sector remained broadly similar to the previous year.

Nearly a third (31%) of new-build registrations in 2018 were for detached homes, 27% were for semi-detached homes, 25% were for apartments, 15% were for terraced homes and 2% were for bungalows.

The number of new homes which were completed last year was up, however, compared with 2017.

There were 149,480 completions – a 1% increase on 2017.

The number of new homes being registered also picked up towards the end of 2018, the NHBC said.

Half of 12 UK nations and regions saw new-build registrations hold steady or increase last year compared with 2017, while the other half saw a fall.

The strongest increases were in Northern Ireland, at 39% and Yorkshire and Humberside, where registrations saw a 20% uplift.

Meanwhile, registrations fell by 10% in London and the Midlands year-on-year.

In Wales, there was 0% change and in Scotland there was a 5% fall.

NHBC chief executive Steve Wood said: “The full–year figures of nearly 160,000 new home registrations demonstrate the resilience of the UK house building industry.

“2018 has been a demanding year, with the extreme weather conditions in the early part and the continuing political and economic uncertainties, which are extending into 2019.

“Whatever the environment, NHBC will continue to support house builders to deliver the high-quality, new homes that the country needs.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “For the last 30 years, governments of all stripes and types have failed to build enough homes, but we’re turning that ship around.

“We still need to deliver more, better, faster, but more than 222,000 homes were delivered in 2017-18, the highest level in all but one of the last 31 years.”

Here are the number of new-build home registrations across the UK in 2018 and the percentage change compared with 2017, according to the NHBC’s figures:

– North East, 6,379, minus 3%
– North West and Merseyside, 18,079, 7%
– Yorkshire and Humberside, 11,196, 20%
– West Midlands, 13,447, minus 10%
– East Midlands, 13,087, minus 10%
– Eastern England, 17,707, 2%
– South West, 14,315, minus 5%
– London, 16,069, minus 10%
– South East, 26,871, 3%
– Scotland, 12,096, minus 5%
– Wales, 5,463, 0%
– Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, 4,908, 39%.