NHBC home registrations totaled 161,022, signalling the industry’s most prolific year in the UK since 2007. Furthermore, the warranty provider, which accounts for around 80% of the market, has reported that some 1.4 million new homes were registered to be built in the decade between 2010 and 2020.
Per annum, the number of new home registrations in the UK has risen by more than 80% over the last decade, although the figure still falls short of Government targets. 2019’s 161,022 registered homes represent an 81% increase on the 88,849 homes registered a decade ago (2009), when the country was in the heart of the recession.
Perhaps the UK’s biggest winners have been the West Midlands and the North West, which have seen the percentage increases of 160% and 148% respectively.
Compared to the previous year, the number of homes registered in 2019 was up 1%, with growth driven by London, where new home registrations increased by 37%, with both the capital’s affordable and rental (+42%) and private housing markets (+33%) performing strongly.
The Build to Rent sector had another positive year with registrations up 57% in 2019 compared to 2018.
Commenting on the new home registration statistics for 2019, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “It is great to see the resilience of housebuilders over the 2019 year. This momentum needs to be maintained as we enter a new decade, with the industry evermore focused on quality and fire safety.
“At NHBC we remain committed to our purpose of giving homeowners confidence in the quality of the nation’s new homes and working with house builders as the industry faces into the skills, supply chain and environmental challenges in front of us.”
In the long term
Interestingly, the number of new houses built in 2019 is higher than the long-term average since 1972, which stands at 155,029, which in itself would suggest good news. It must be remembered however that according to the graphs, the figures seem to have plateaued in recent years and the sector is struggling to get back to the heights of the pre-financial crash era.
