Enthusiasm for PRS developments fuelling increase, says NHBC
Money flowing into the private rental market has been behind a hefty rise in the number of new homes being registered, according to the NHBC.
Reporting 43,438 new home registrations for the three months to the end of June – a 12-year high – the NHBC said a mix of continued investment in the UK market and growth in the private rented sector was helping to boost the market.
Nearly 30,000 – 29,993 – homes were registered in the private rented sector, up 13%.
Affordable home registrations were up by 7% at 13,445.
A number of overseas firms including US developers Greystar and CBRE, as well as investment bank Goldman Sachs have been splashing out millions to take advantage of the demand for build-to-rent developments in the UK.
Following what the NHBC said was a positive start to 2019 – when the first three months saw a 3% rise in registrations – the overall quarterly figures were 12% up on the same period last year and the highest number since the last three months of 2007, when 43,525 homes were registered.
Registrations in London rocketed in the quarter, more than doubling from just short of 3,000 to 6,000, while the north west and Merseyside also witnessed a sizeable uplift, rising 47% to 5,818.
The South-East of England saw a 1% dip in registrations to 6,584, while Scotland reported an 18% increase, Wales saw a 3% rise and Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man combined reported a 30% decline.
Steve Wood, the NHBC’s chief executive, said: “It is great to see this sign of confidence in new-build housing and that the positive start to the year has continued into the summer.
“The combination of the growing private rental sector and on-going investment into the UK market is helping to boost new home registrations,” he added.
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