NHBC reports 11% year-on-year growth in UK new home registrations

​​​​​​​Private-sector registrations were up 12% to 75,227, compared with 67,265 in 2024

Figures released recently show that 115,350 new homes were registered for construction in 2025, up 11% from 2024 (103,669).

Daniel Pearce, corporate strategy director at NHBC, explains: “Our latest figures show increased home building activity, although the volume of new homes built remains below long-term averages. 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.”

Private-sector registrations were up 12% to 75,227, compared with 67,265 in 2024. The rental and affordable sector saw a 10% uplift in the same period, with 40,123 new homes registered in 2025 versus 36,404 in 2024.

While he welcomes these increases, Pearce stresses the importance of new home quality during any period of growth, adding: “Results of the National New Homes Survey administered by NHBC on behalf of the House Builders Federation have tracked trends in customer satisfaction since 2004.

“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 more new homes. NHBC will be seeking to help ensure homes are built to the quality that owners and occupiers should expect.”

Across the UK, all regions except London experienced year-on-year growth in registrations, with the West Midlands (29%) and the East (24%) seeing the largest increases.

London registrations were down a significant 27% as lengthy delays at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and a drop in the delivery of affordable homes impacted development in the capital.

All house types saw an uplift in 2025, except apartments, which were down 2%, linked to regulatory challenges, scheme viability, and the ongoing affordability crisis in London.

Daniel adds: “We’re increasingly hearing of house builders reducing their operations in London, citing regulatory challenges and cost. Set against a decline in affordable housing delivery and a backlog of building control applications, it is unsurprising apartment registrations fell in 2025.”

While NHBC’s registration figures provide a positive outlook for house building activity, new home completions stood at 122,012 in 2025, 2% down on 2024 (124,272).