15-year new home high in 2022

Last year was the strongest for new home registrations since 2007, according to an industry body.

The National House Building Council (NHBC), which released the figures, said the final three months of 2022 had been “challenging” after a strong performance earlier in the year.

Across the UK, 191,801 new registrations were recorded by the NHBC in 2022, marking the highest annual total since 198,467 in 2007.

The number in 2022 was 26% higherthanin2021,accordingto the figures given to the PA news agency.

There was a 21% drop in new home registrations in the last three months of 2022 compared with the previous quarter as the impact of September’s minibudget and wider economic challenges took hold, the NHBC said.

It said London was particularly affected by the fall in registrations towards the end of the year, with northern England and Wales also being impacted.

Steve Wood, chief executive of the NHBC, a warranty and insurance provider, said the data reflected the fluctuating economic climate.

He said: “Whilst the final quarterof2022wasundoubtedly a challenging one, it was off the back of strong market performance in the first half of the year.

“Rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have had a marked impact on many areas of the UK economy.

“Housebuilding has not been immune from these factors but the demand for high quality new homes, whether in the private or rental sector, is still holding up.

“It is too early to judge how long any slowdown is likely to last, housebuilding continues to show resilience.

“The sector has shown time and time again that it can weather market fluctuations and respond to rising demand.”

The NHBC has a 70% to 80% share of the UK warranty market.

Its figures indicate the stock of new properties in the pipeline as homes are registered with the NHBC before being built.

In2022therewere141,757new registrations recorded in the private sector – a 25% increase compared with 2021 – and 50,044 were in the affordable and“buildtorent”sector–a29% year-on-year increase.

The NHBC also said that private sector registrations were particularly affected by the drop-off in the fourth quarter, while the rental sector was less affected.

David Campbell, commercial director at NHBC, said: “Housebuilding in the rental sector has remained steady in the last two quarters, with investors and developers pivoting towards the increasing demand for high-quality rental homes.

“The diversity of the housebuilding market and greater focus on ‘build to rent’ is proving to be an important factor in housing supply.”

MrCampbellsaidearly2023is likelytobeachallengingtimefor the housebuilding market, but added:“Buildersanddevelopers have historically held up well in tough economic circumstances, in part bolstered by the imbalance between demand and supply of new homes.

“As one might expect, many are considering the viability of launching new projects to the market very carefully, particularly in light of the latest Bank of England base rate rise, but there are signs that this will be temporary as inquiry and reservation levels begin to rise.”

The figures also show that 151,120 new homes were completed in 2022, up 8% compared with 2021.

Record sales achieved despite ‘challenging’ year-end, reports Vicky Shaw