Detached new-build home registrations reach highest level since 2003

There were 153,339 new home registrations in 2021, marking a 25% increase on 2020, the NHBC said.

The number of new homes registered last year was 25% up on 2020, according to industry figures (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

More new detached homes were registered in 2021 than in any other year since 2003, according to industry figures.

In total, there were 153,339 new home registrations in 2021, marking a 25% increase on 2020, the NHBC (National House Building Council) said.

London was the only part of the UK to see a decline in registrations in 2021, down 27% compared to 2020, due to a combination of pandemic effects and some hesitation on apartment block registrations, according to the report.

At the other end of the spectrum, the North East of England recorded 74% annual growth in new home registrations.

The trend for people wanting bigger houses which would help them work from home was reflected in a 47% increase in detached home registrations.

The pandemic has resulted in a real shift in the way people work and use their homes, with this likely to have some long-lasting effects, as seen in the high demand for detached properties

Steve Wood, NHBC

Some 52,190 detached homes were registered in 2021 – marking the highest total since 2003 when there were 52,534 detached home registrations.

Registrations for new apartments, meanwhile, dropped by 15% year-on-year.

NHBC chief executive Steve Wood said: “The housebuilding industry demonstrated considerable resilience in 2021, rebounding well from the pandemic and coping with significant strains in the supply chain.

“The pandemic has resulted in a real shift in the way people work and use their homes, with this likely to have some long-lasting effects, as seen in the high demand for detached properties.

“Whilst there has been a clear drop in the number of apartment registrations, the ‘death of the city’ is over-stated and we expect to see these start to increase in the medium term, particularly with the continued investment in the build-to-rent sector.”

Homes are registered with the NHBC before being built – so its figures are an indicator of the housing stock in the pipeline. The body has a 70% to 80% share of the UK warranty market.

In 2020, there had been 122,935 registrations, a total which was an eight-year low.

Last year’s total was still below the 159,500 new homes registered in 2019.

Private sector registrations were a key driver behind the increase in last year’s new home registrations, rising by 42% annually in 2021.

The number of new homes being registered in the rental sector decreased by 8% from 42,460 in 2020 to 38,862 in 2021.

This was in part due to budgets going towards putting building safety issues on the existing housing stock right, the NHBC said.

The number of new homes being completed in 2021 was also up by 21% compared with the previous year, the NHBC said.

Here are the new home registrations across the UK in 2021 and the percentage change compared with 2020, according to the NHBC:

– North East, 7,467, 74%

– North West, 14,446, 26%

– Yorkshire and the Humber, 10,543, 31%

– West Midlands, 13,737, 18%

– East Midlands, 17,313, 50%

– Eastern England, 21,000, 46%

– South West 14,517, 33%

– London, 12,272, minus 27%

– South East 21,600, 18%

– Scotland, 12,599, 43%

– Wales, 4,171, 7%

– Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, 3,674, 28%