David Campbell, NHBC’s commercial director, said registrations were at broadly similar levels to those seen before the pandemic due to the “relentless resilience” of the market.
Overall registrations were 14% up to 33,779 although rental registrations (including affordable rent and Build to Rent) were 32% down at 7,725 homes. Campbell said the fall was mainly contributed to providers committing less capital to developing affordable rented homes and diverting it to remedial work.
Meanwhile, Q3 completions were down 5% year-on-year to 31,908, with those for private and rental down 5% and 6% respectively. NHBC said this reflected the “post-lockdown recovery” of last year, but, added Campbell, also possibly the effects of material and labour shortages.
Campbell said: “This is the first quarter we’ve seen this come into the statistics, based on anecdotal evidence rather than established trends." and added that NHBC would be looking with interest at Q4 data for any continuing trends.
The Q3 statistics also revealed that detached homes represented the largest proportion of UK new home registrations, at 36% against the 28% of Q3 2020. Apartments accounted for only 13% of registrations, shrinking from last year’s 29%.
NHBC said this reflected increased demand for space in response to the pandemic. At the same time, Campbell said NHBC would continue to monitor its figures for any effects of migration back to cities.
During Q3, ten out of 12 UK regions experienced increases in registrations. The East Midlands, North East and Yorkshire and Humberside saw the largest rises, at +103%, +86% and +63% respectively. Meanwhile, London’s registrations fell 78%.
Steve Wood, NHBC’s CEO, said: “With new home registrations up by a healthy 14%, the market remains buoyant. There is confidence in new homes despite the significant supply-chain disruption presently being experienced.
“Housebuilders are responding swiftly to shifts in consumer demand for detached houses that offer more space. The move away from apartment blocks is affecting London but this is only one quarter’s data.”
