New home registrations saw a significant surge in the first quarter of 2025, jumping by over a third compared to the same period in 2024, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC).
The rise signals a potentially substantial increase in the availability of new homes in the near future.
The NHBC, which holds over 70 per cent of the UK warranty market, registers new homes before construction begins, offering an early glimpse into the housing pipeline.
Its data revealed 29,356 new home registrations across the UK in the first quarter of 2025.
This represents a 36 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2024 and a 17 per cent rise from the final quarter of last year.
The private sector experienced the most dramatic growth, with 20,653 new homes registered, a substantial 62 per cent leap from the first quarter of 2024.
However, the rental and affordable sector saw a slight dip, registering 8,703 new homes, a 2 per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2024.
Of the homes registered in the first quarter of 2025, 9,821 were detached, marking a 63 per cent increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
Some 416 properties were bungalows, marking a 54 per cent annual rise, 9,955 were semi-detached which was a 44 per cent increase compared with the first quarter of 2024, and 4,562 were terraced homes, which was a 23 per cent annual rise.
Some 4,602 new registrations were for apartments, marking a 3 per cent annual decrease.
The figures also show that 26,120 new builds were completed in the first quarter of this year, which was a 1 per cent decrease compared with the first quarter of 2024.
Steve Wood, CEO at the NHBC, said: “Our figures for the first quarter of this year indicate growing confidence in the market with a 36 per cent increase in developers registering their intent to build a new home compared to the same period last year.
“Although we can be distracted by global factors that continue to unsettle markets, the easing of inflation, lower mortgage rates, greater availability of lower deposit mortgages and a strong start to spring sales all point to improving prospects in UK house building.”
London was the only region or nation where new build registrations fell annually in the first quarter of 2025.
The NHBC said registrations in London were affected “by the new building safety regime for high rise buildings and lower demand from housing associations where capital budgets remain focused on existing stock”.
Here are the numbers of new build registrations across the UK in the first quarter of 2025, according to the NHBC, and the percentage increase or decrease compared with the first quarter of 2024:
- North East, 1,864, up 49 per cent
- North West, 2,241, up 42 per cent
- Yorkshire and the Humber, 2,260, up 43 per cent
- West Midlands, 2,957, up 51 per cent
- East Midlands, 3,442, up 102 per cent
- Eastern England, 4,035, up 46 per cent
- South West, 2,670, up 18 per cent
- London, 1,494, down 38 per cent
- South East, 4,467, up 30 per cent
- Scotland, 2,299, up 39 per cent
- Wales, 827, up 116 per cent
- Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, 800, up 28 per cent
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