Despite the dip in figures seen in August, the number of new home registrations across the three months from June to August has risen compared with the same period in 2014.
According to new figures released today by NHBC, the new home registration statistics saw an increase of 11% for the rolling quarter from June to August 2015. A total of 40,101 new homes were registered in the UK during this period, up on the 36,149 new homes registered in the previous year.
The private sector increased by 12% during this period (30,210 in 2015; 27,072 last year), with the public sector increasing by 9% from last year (9,891 in 2015; 9,077 last year).
However, registrations for August specifically were down by 6% (10,362 compared to 11,037 last year) – the first time since January that figures fell below last year's respective monthly totals. For the month, the private sector was marginally down by 1% (8,401 in 2015, 8,476 August 2014), with the public sector down 23% (1,961 versus 2,561 last August); this decrease follows six consecutive months of growth when compared to last year for the public sector.
NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: "Despite a slight decrease for August, overall registration levels for the rolling quarter show the same steady growth we've seen throughout 2015. However, we are now seeing registration volumes fall in the public and affordable sector after a good start to the year. This may be due to many housing associations holding back on developments in light of welfare reforms and the cap on rental increases. We will closely monitor this over the coming months, along with the private sector, as the house building industry strives to build more new, quality homes that the UK needs."
