Private sector registrations rose 62% in the first quarter of 2025 against Q1 2024, according to the latest UK home statistics from the NHBC. During Q1 2025, 20,653 private sector homes were registered to be built against Q1 2024’s 12,747.
Meanwhile, the rental and affordable homes sector saw a “ modest” fall of 2% in registrations in the same quarter compared to Q1 2024, at 8,703 new homes.
In total, new home registrations were up 36% in Q1 2025 year-on-year to 29,356. This was a 17% improvement on Q4 2024.
But NHBC’s figures also reflected the consequence of delays to the approval of high-rise residential buildings through the Building Safety Regulator. During Q1, apartment registrations across the UK fell 3%, also driven by lower demand from housing associations as registered providers focused on existing stock.
“Our figures for the first quarter of this year indicate growing confidence in the market, with a 36% increase in developers registering their intent to build a new home compared to the same period last year.” – Steve Wood, CEO of NHBC
London was the only region to see a fall in registrations during Q1 2025 year-on-year as a result of the above, with a fall of 38%. The largest increases were seen in Wales (+116%), the East Midlands (+102%) and West Midlands (+51%).
And registrations for all other house types (excluding apartments) increased during the quarter against the previous year, with detached houses and bungalows experiencing the highest percentage increases at +63% and +54% respectively.
According to NHBC’s data 26,120 new homes were completed in Q1 2025, a 1% decrease on Q1 2024.
“The easing of inflation, lower mortgage rates, greater availability of lower deposit mortgages and a strong start to spring sales all point to improving prospects in UK housebuilding,” stated Steve Wood, CEO of NHBC.
“This is particularly true for low-rise housing and for regions outside London which are less affected by the delays in approvals from the Building Safety Regulator, where the new gateway system is still bedding in.
“In addition, the industry has welcomed the government’s planned investment in infrastructure, skills and planning reform: over time, all of this will help housing supply.”
On affordable housing, Wood said: “The demand for affordable housing across the UK is acute, so we welcome the government’s £2 billion injection of new grant funding to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes. The sector would encourage increased demand-side stimulus, including through the new Affordable Homes Programme as it is confirmed later in the year.”
“Finally, it is worth a reminder that all new homes must be built to high quality standards. This should remain a key focus for all housing delivery, irrespective of tenure, during any period of growth.”
This content is provided by NHBC
