New figures from NHBC have revealed that 154,698 new homes were registered to be built in the 2017/18 financial year.
This represents the second highest number of registrations in a decade – a 2% decrease on the 157,805 record of registrations seen in the 2016/17 financial year.
With growth reported in the first three quarters of the 2017/18 financial year, 116,451 new homes were registered in the private sector, compared to 117,987 in 2016/17.
38,247 homes were also registered in the affordable sector which is compared to 39,818 in the 2016/17 financial year.
Six out of the 12 UK regions also experienced growth in the 2017/18 financial year, with the most notable increases in the North West (18,272 +21%), East Midlands (14,314 +12%) and Wales (5,384 +11%).
The new figures revealed a slower start to 2018, with 36,637 new homes registered in the first three months of the year, compared to 42,405 in the same period last year, a decrease of 14%.
This fall in registrations in the first three months of 2018, is said to be in part attributed to the exceptionally bad weather during the start of the year, which affected progress on building sites across the country.
Other contributory factors are said to include the shortages in skills across the house-building industry, caution around Brexit and short-term market fluctuations.
Despite the challenges in the first quarter of the year, longer-term trends indicate continued growth in new home registrations, with industry confidence strong amongst UK house builders in both the private and affordable sectors.
NHBC Chief Executive, Steve Wood commented: “New home registration figures for the last financial year have reached the second highest level in a decade, despite a challenging start to 2018, with freezing weather conditions affecting building sites up and down the country.
“Business confidence in both the private and affordable sectors remains high with clear routes to continued growth in 2018, and NHBC will continue to help support house builders to build the high quality new homes that people across the UK need.”
