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The number of new homes registered in 2018 was flat, staying broadly in line with 2017, according to new figures from NHBC.
Overall, developers registered 159,617 new homes with NHBC over the year, a 0.5% decrease on the 160,396 in 2017. The private sector was down 1% (117,497 in 2018; 118,372 in 2017) with the affordable sector essentially level (42,120 in 2018; 42,024 in 2017).
New home completions for the year were also stable, up 1% on 2017 (149,480 in 2018; 147,552 in 2017).
For the year as a whole, eight of the 12 months showed an increase in registrations on the same period a year ago. This includes seven straight months of growth following the slow start to the year, caused by ‘Beast from the East’.
The final quarter (Oct – Dec 2018) showed a 2% increase in the UK’s new home registrations (40,513 v 39,736).
Overall, there was growth in six out of the 12 UK regions in 2018 when compared to 2017, including Yorkshire & Humberside (+20%), the North West (+7%) and Northern Ireland (+39%).
In London, new home registrations were down 10% in 2018 at 16,069 (17,932 in 2017), with the capital’s private housing market bearing the brunt of the continuing political and economic uncertainties.
NHBC chief executive Steve Wood said: “The full–year figures of nearly 160,000 new home registrations demonstrate the resilience of the UK house-building industry. 2018 has been a demanding year, with the extreme weather conditions in the early part and the continuing political and economic uncertainties, which are extending into 2019.”
