More than 150,000 new homes were registered by warranty and insurance provider for new builds, the NHBC, in 2016, the second highest in almost a decade.
The figures show that a total of 151,687 new homes were registered but this was a slight fall of 2% compared to 2015 when 155,504 new homes were registered. However, the 2016 figures represent a 70% increase in registrations compared to levels seen at the time of the housing crash in 2008/2009.
Some 115,689 new homes were registered in the private sector, compared to 117,506 in 2015 with 35,998 registered in the affordable sector, compared to 37,998 the previous year.
NHBC’s latest data also revealed that seven out of 12 regions experienced an increase in registrations, most notably Yorkshire and Humberside up 27%, the South East up 14% and the North West up 12%, compared to 2015 figures.
Additionally, the overall UK total excluding London registrations shows a 4% increase on the corresponding figures from 2015, with 134,365 registrations in 2016 compared to 129,744 the previous year, for the UK without the capital.
The number of new homes completed during 2016 at 141,175 was also marginally up 1% on 2015’s total of 140,407 and in terms of house types, 2016 saw the highest number of detached homes registered in the UK since 2004, with a total of 46,118 being registered and the highest number of semi-detached since records began 30 years ago.
As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC’s registration statistics are a lead indicator of the country’s new homes market. For over 80 years, NHBC has been committed to driving up quality and raising standards in house building and enjoys around 80% market share in UK new home warranties.
‘Taking into account the extraordinary events of 2016, the UK house building sector has remained resilient, despite initial caution around Brexit. We have also seen some strong regional growth outside of London,’ said NHBC business development director Mark Jones.
‘Both industry and consumer confidence remains high and early signs indicate that the new year has begun positively,’ he added.
The NHBC’s 10 year Buildmark warranty covers around 80% of new homes built in the UK, having covered nearly eight million homes since it began and currently protecting around 1.6 million homes.
