"Whilst there are some tentative signs of conditions improving for developers to build homes, fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and economic uncertainty continue to impact demand"
- Daniel Pearce - NHBC
New homes registered for the UK rental and affordable sector increased 10% last year to 40,123, according to NHBC data released today.
The growth in rental and affordable registrations accompanied a 12% rise in private sector new home registrations, which totalled 75,227 during 2025. Overall, new home registrations across all sectors increased 11% to 115,350.
However, completions told a different story. Total new home completions slipped 2% against 2024 to 122,012. Private sector completions dipped from 78,299 in 2024 to 77,910, while rental and affordable sector completions fell from 45,973 to 44,102.
"Our latest figures show increased home building activity, although the volume of new homes built remains below long-term averages," said Daniel Pearce, corporate strategy director at NHBC.
"Whilst there are some tentative signs of conditions improving for developers to build homes, fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and economic uncertainty continue to impact demand."
London was the only UK region to see registrations decline year-on-year, falling 27%. The drop was driven by delays to high rise residential building approvals through the Building Safety Regulator and reduced affordable homes delivery in the capital.
The West Midlands and Eastern region recorded the highest increases in new home registrations at 29% and 24% respectively.
Apartments were the only house type to record lower registrations against 2024, falling 2%. NHBC attributed this to "regulatory challenges, scheme viability and the ongoing affordability crisis in London".
Pearce cautioned that quality must be maintained during growth periods. "Results of the National New Homes Survey administered by NHBC on behalf of the Home Builders Federation have tracked trends in customer satisfaction since 2004," he said.
"They show that as the number of new home completions increases, the percentage of customers satisfied with the quality of their new home decreases. This trend must be broken as the industry prepares to deliver an increased volume of new homes. NHBC will be seeking to help ensure homes are built to the quality owners and occupiers should expect."
