More than 12,000 new homes were registered to be built in the UK in October according to NHBC’s latest registration statistics, resulting in levels consistent with the same rolling quarter for 2015.
A total of 12,169 new homes (9,261 private sector; 2,908 public sector) were registered in October, compared to 16,404 (12,874 private sector; 3,530 public sector) 12 months ago.
The extraordinarily high volumes reported in October 2015 can be attributed to builders registering new homes in time to take advantage of the lower rate of Insurance Premium Tax which increased by 3.5% on 1 November last year.
Overall, there were 37,591 new home registrations in the rolling quarter (August 2016 – October 2016), compared to 37,177 in the same period last year, an increase of 1%. Private sector registrations decreased by 6% over this period (27,877 in 2016; 29,564 in 2015), with the public and affordable sector increasing by 28% (9,714 in 2016; 7,613 in 2015).
As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC's registration statistics are a lead indicator of UK house-building activity. For 80 years, NHBC has been committed to driving up quality and raising standards in housebuilding and has approximately 80% market share.
Commenting on the latest figures, NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said: “Our registration statistics show that despite concerns about the market in light of the vote to leave the EU, builders are continuing to commit to volumes in line with last year.
"As ever, NHBC remains fully committed to support the industry to build new homes to the highest possible standards and we welcome the Government’s continued commitment to support the sector, as outlined in last week’s Autumn statement."
