Confidence in the UK house building industry remains strong despite the vote to leave the EU, new figures suggest.
According to quarterly data from the National House Building Council, new home registrations – which provide an indicator of future completions – were up 1% to 41,222 for April to June. This makes it the strongest quarter since 2007.
NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: “These registrations reflect continued industry confidence in the run-up to the EU referendum at the end of June. Indeed, this period was the strongest quarter since 2007, albeit still some way off levels seen over a decade ago.”
NHBC recorded 137,894 housing completions in July, up from 129,818 the previous year.
However, new home registrations were down 2.50% to 152,434 for the year to July.
The NHBC is a warranty and insurance provider that covers around 80% of the UK building market.
There was a 6% increase in new homes registered in the private sector, but the number of new homes registered in the public sector fell 13%.
The figures portray a mixed picture across the UK, with half of the 12 regions showing an increase in registrations during the second quarter of the year.
The South East saw the biggest rise in registrations of 37%, with housebuilders planning to build 7,237 homes. It was followed by the North East, which recorded a rise in registrations of 34%.
Housebuilders are planning to build fewer homes in Wales and London, where registrations fell 30% and 29%, respectively.
John Stewart, director of economic affairs at HBF, said: “If the economic outlook is weaker post-Brexit, there is an even stronger case to increase house numbers.
“Following a dip before and after the vote, things seemed to have bounced back and housebuilding is probably a little bit up.
“Figures in London clearly have been weaker. Talking to housebuilders, the slowdown pre-dated Brexit. It would appear that this is largely due to the high-end of the market being affected by stamp duty changes in 2014 and earlier this year.
“The evidence on the ground is that housebuilders are carrying on in market terms, but it is really too early to comment yet.”
Housing crisis
New research published by the Local Government Association has warned that four million people will no longer be able to afford somewhere decent to live by 2024 and will need access to some type of affordable housing.
The inadequate supply of suitable homes is seen as one of the main reasons behind the housing crisis and as prices continue to surge, there are fears the property ladder will soon be out of reach for many.
Stephen Smith, director of Legal & General housing partnerships, said: “For far too long now, we have not been building the homes we need to meet the rising demand for homeownership. The impact of this has shown itself in the stratospheric rises in house prices that we have witnessed over the last few decades.
“A stable housing market is one that sees house prices growing in line with inflation. With the recent changes in government, there is an excellent opportunity to make a break from past failures and commit to delivering on some very important housing promises.
“To achieve this, the government must look to mobilise local authorities and associations, and incentivise private constructors, in order to build thousands more new, affordable homes.”
It is estimated that between 250,000 to 300,000 homes are needed to be built each year in order to tackle the housing crisis.
In 2015, the government set the UK house building target by pledging to build one million homes over its five-year term. However, only 142,890 homes were built in 2015, 29% less than the 200,000 homes needed to reach the one million target by 2020.
According to the Yorkshire Building Society, the UK has missed its house building targets by a whopping 1.2 million since 2004.
