New home registrations hit 15-year high last year despite fourth quarter slowdown

Total new home registrations were at their highest in 2022 for 15 years, despite a slowdown in the final quarter of the year, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC).

Figures from the NHBC show there were 191,801 homes registered with the insurancy and warranty provider in 2022, the highest annual total since the 198,467 registered in 2007. 

The increase was fuelled by a 45% surge in registrations in the second quarter of the year, which NHBC has previously said was due in part to housebuilders bringing forward schemes to avoid the introduction of new energy efficiency requirements in ‘part L’ changes to building regulations that came in on 15 June.

However, the final quarter’s total of 35,041 was down on the 36,248 figure recorded for the same period in 2021, it was also 21% down on the 44,542 registrations in the third quarter of last year.

Ten out of 12 regions saw a fall in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, the NHBC recorded, with London most impacted with a 63% decline, followed by the North East at 47% and Wales, the North West and Merseyside joint third at 33%. 

Steve Wood, chief executive of the NHBC, said: “While the final quarter of 2022 was undoubtedly a challenging one, it was off the back of strong market performance in the first half of the year.  

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“Rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have had a marked impact on many areas of the UK economy.” But he added: “We are seeing some early indications that enquiries for new build homes are easing up, which is perhaps a sign that people need to get on with their lives.” 

Wood also noted that housebuilding had “not been immune from these factors but the demand for high quality new homes, whether in the private or rental sector, is still holding up”.