New home registrations rise 6%

A SIX PERCENT increase in the number of new homes registered in the UK has been recorded by a national house building body.

The NHBC said that the figures are the highest third quarter new home registrations in a decade.

And in the South East, there were 6,697 new homes registered in the third quarter of 2017 - up from 6,330 this time last year.

In total, builders registered nearly 38,000 new homes in the UK during the quarter - the highest 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 (Q3 2017: 29,083 vs Q3 2016: 26,611), with 8,853 new homes registered in the affordable sector, a 5% decrease on Q3 2016 (9,335).

Seven out of the 12 UK regions experienced growth in registrations, when compared to the same period last year. Scotland (3,056 +50%), East Midlands (3,575 +42%) and the North East (2,078 +34%) were among the regions with most notable growth.

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.”