New home registrations in London plummet 35%

October 26, 2017 / Isla MacFarlane
New home registrations in London plummet 35%

Housebuilders registered to build just 2,494 homes in London in the third quarter of 2017 – the lowest level since the nineties property crash. According to the latest data from NHBC, the capital is facing the worst slump in new home registrations since 1992.

This follows new calculations from London First which project that housebuilders in London will complete just 63% of homes that the city needs to build in 2017.

Former policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, Sir Mark Boleat, recently authored a report on why London can’t build enough homes. He said, “Housing is the number one domestic policy challenge of our age. The crisis in the capital is harming London’s competiveness and fostering inter-generational unfairness.”

Away from London, the picture is somewhat brighter. Builders registered nearly 38,000 new homes in the UK during Q3 2017, according to NHBC’s latest new home registration statistics, the highest Q3 total since the recession.

In the period July – September 37,936 new homes were registered, representing a 6% increase on the 35,946 registered in the same period last year.

The private sector saw a 9% increase for the quarter; however, just 8,853 new homes were registered in the affordable sector, a 5% decrease on Q3 2016.

Seven out of the 12 UK regions experienced growth in registrations, when compared to the same period last year.

New home registrations rocketed in Scotland, which saw a 50% increase over last year.“Overall, builders and developers are enjoying an upturn in fortunes, with limited availability of housing stock driving demand,” said Malcolm MacLeod, NHBC Director for Scotland. “The Help to Buy scheme continues to assist and we are witnessing high levels of growth in the Lothian and Renfrewshire areas.”

Elsewhere, the East Midlands and the North East were among the regions with the most notable growth, with new home registrations up 42% and 34%, respectively.

NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said, “We have seen encouraging growth in terms of the number of new homes being registered over the last three months, across many parts of the country.

“With demand for high quality new homes as strong as ever, this is positive news for the industry and prospective homebuyers, particularly in light of the current political and economic uncertainties.”

 

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