New homes boost as confidence returns

29,656 new homes were registered in England between January and March.

33,816 new homes were registered in the UK during Q1, compared to 31,739 for the corresponding period a year ago – an increase of 7%.

Following a record 2013, with the highest new house building volumes in London for a generation, Q1 2014 London registrations also grew 6% on the comparative period last year. Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol are the top three cities with the highest number of new home registrations.

NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said:

"Our new figures show further sustained growth and consolidation in the UK house building industry following a strong year last year.

"Over the past 15 months we have seen a genuine return of confidence to the industry as builders strive to meet the growing demand for new homes that the country clearly needs.

"London continues to be the major driver for growth in house building. But our figures also show that other UK cities outside the capital are also showing some encouraging signs of growth.

“However, we have been clear that this growth is from a historically low base. The UK still has a chronic shortage of new homes so we must not get complacent in our continued attempts to meet the growing housing needs of the population.”

Private sector registrations in Q1 increased by 3% (24,414), compared with the same period in 2013 (23,608).

Public sector registrations in January – March 2014 increased by 16% (9,402) when compared with the same period a year ago (8,131).

As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC’s registration statistics are a leading indicator of how the country’s new homes market is performing.