More than 160,000
new homes were registered to be built in the UK last year, an increase of 6% on
2016, according to NHBC’s latest new home statistics.
A total of 160,606 homes were
registered throughout the course of 2017, up from the 152,017 the previous year
and the highest since the pre-recession levels of a decade ago.
The private sector
grew by 3% with 118,825 new homes registered, with the affordable sector
increasing by 14% to 41,781 – the highest yearly total for the sector since
NHBC electronic records began 30 years ago.
New home completions
also increased by 4% from 141,685 in 2016 to 147,278 last year.
Nine out of 12 UK
regions experienced an increase in registrations, with the East Midlands (+19%
;14,481), Wales (+19%; 5,470) and North West (+12%; 16,947) among the areas
which saw noticeable growth.
Figures for London
showed the rate of new homes being registered was slightly up on 2016, with
17,850 units compared to 17,587 the previous year, the first increase
year-on-year in the capital since 2014.
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
new home registrations statistics for 2017, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood
said: "Our figures show the market has delivered strong growth resulting
in the highest new home figures for a decade and growth across the majority of
the UK, including London for the first time since 2014.
"Looking ahead,
NHBC will continue to work with the industry to help raise the standards of new
homes. With 6% growth in the quantity of new home registrations, the focus on
delivering quality for consumers remains critical."
During 2017, the
number of NHBC new home registrations was 160,606 compared to 152,017 in 2016.
Of these: 118,825 were registered in the private sector, compared to 115,375 in
the previous year; and 41,781 were registered in the affordable sector, compared
to 36,642 in the previous year.
