The number of new homes registered in the UK in January show a 14% increase compared to the same time in 2013, new figures from the National House-Building Council (NHBC) reveal.

The year’s first statistics continue the upward trend seen throughout 2013, which resulted in the highest number of new home registrations since the economic downturn in 2007.

In total 11,489 new homes were registered (8,312 private sector; 3,177 public sector) in January, an increase on the 10,112 last January.

Commenting on the latest statistics NHBC’s commercial director, Richard Tamayo, said: “Our figures show that the industry enjoyed a strong start to 2014 by maintaining the momentum from the previous year. Both private and public sectors reported growth on the same month in 2013 and we look forward to hopefully seeing this trend continue throughout the year to help meet the demand for new homes.”