Figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show 29,356 new homes were registered to be built in Q1 2025, up 36% on the same period last year.
And that is 17% more than Q4 2024.
But in terms of completions there was a small dip in Q1 this year – 26,120 new homes were completed, 1% down on Q1 2024.
Steve Wood, chief executive at NHBC, explains: “Our figures for the first quarter of this year indicate growing confidence in the market with a 36% 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.
“This is particularly true for low-rise housing and for regions outside London which are less affected by the delays in approvals from the Building Safety Regulator where the new gateway system is still bedding in.
“In addition, the industry has welcomed the government’s planned investment in infrastructure, skills and planning reform; over time, all of this will help housing supply.”
Across the UK, 11 out of 12 regions saw a rise in registrations in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, with the biggest increases in Wales (+116%), the East Midlands (+102%) and West Midlands (+51%).
Registrations were down in London (-38%), 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.
As a consequence, apartment registrations across the UK were down 3% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. All other house type registrations were up with detached houses (+63%) and bungalows (+54%) seeing the highest percentage increases.
There were 20,653 private sector registrations in Q1 2025, up a significant 62% on Q1 2024 (12,747).
The rental and affordable sector saw a modest fall, with 8,703 new homes registered in Q1 2025, down 2% on Q1 2024 (8,888).
Wood continues: “The demand for affordable housing across the UK is acute, so we welcome the Government’s £2 billion injection of new grant fundingto deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes. The sector would encourage increased demand-side stimulus, including through the new Affordable Homes Programme as it is confirmed later in the year.
“Finally, it is worth a reminder that all new homes must be built to high quality standards. This should remain a key focus for all housing delivery, irrespective of tenure, during any period of growth.”
