Housebuilders raise game with 15,000 new home registrations in October

Following a worrying drop in new homes registered to be built over the summer, housebuilders picked up the pace in October. More than 15,000 new homes registered to be built in October, reports NHBC, a 6% rise from last year.

Builders and developers across the UK registered a total of 15,343 new homes during October according to NHBC’s latest statistics, up from 14,494 in October 2018.

The private sector registered 10,688 to be built, a mild decrease from the 10,941 registered in October 2018. Continuing a recent trend, 4,655 were registered to be built in the affordable and rental sector, up from 3,553 in October 2018. The figure makes October the second busiest registration month of 2019 to date.

It’s been a mixed year for housebuilders, with the private sector faltering and the affordable sector powering ahead. For the rolling quarter, between August and October, 40,472 new homes were registered compared to 42,198 in the same period in 2018 – a decrease of 4%.

Within this there was a 12% fall in the private sector, with the affordable and rental sector (which includes shared ownership and homes built for private, social or affordable rent) growing by 22%.

Overall during this period there was growth in four out of the 12 UK regions, including the West Midlands (+56%), London (+10%) and Yorkshire and Humberside (+6%).

NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “Following several months of slowdown as a result of Brexit uncertainties, it is promising to see encouraging numbers for October. NHBC will continue working with the industry to maintain and improve the quality of new homes for the people who live in them.”

NHBC UK statistics show that:

• During Aug ’19 – Oct ’19 the number of NHBC new home registrations was 40,472 compared to 42,198 a year ago;
• 28,182 were registered in the private sector, compared to 32,160 in the previous year;
• 12,290 were registered in the affordable and rental sector, compared to 10,038 in the previous year.

Full regional breakdown of total new homes registered during this period: