The UK’s National House Building Council (NHBC) has released figures that show a 20% decrease in new homes registered to be built in the UK for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
The data indicates that approximately 21,967 new homes were registered in Q1 2024, a notable decline from the 27,619 registered in the same period of the previous year.
The number of new homes completed in Q1 2024 stood at 26,240, a 13% decline from 30,071 in Q1 2023.
The NHBC has attributed this decline in figures to skills shortages, an exceptionally wet late-year period, as well as ongoing economic challenges in the country.
Despite the downturn, the data shows that there has been a gradual increase in new home registrations month-on-month within Q1 2024.
Specifically, March saw 8,320 new homes registered, an improvement from 6,557 in January and 7,090 in February.
Registrations in Q1 2024 also surpassed those in Q3 and Q4 2023.
NHBC CEO Steve Wood said: “Prolonged wet weather has also hampered house building output in Q1, with the south of England experiencing its wettest February since 1836, according to the Met[eorological] Office, and many parts of southern England recording well over twice average rainfall.
“House builders are cautiously optimistic and it is encouraging to see signs of growth, with a month-on-month increase in registrations since January. This is despite a cumbersome planning system that continues to impede output and a national skills gap that means almost 225,000 extra workers will be required to meet expected UK construction demand by 2027.”
Regionally, nine out of 12 areas in the UK experienced a drop in registrations against Q1 2023, with a 43% drop observed in the East Midlands, an equal 43% decline in Wales, and North West and Merseyside each falling by 41%.
In contrast, London, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man saw increases of 2%, 4%, and 23% (for both), respectively.
The NHBC’s data also indicated that the country's private sector recorded 13,633 registrations in Q1 2024, a 21% decrease from Q1 2023's 17,339.
The rental and affordable housing sector also faced a decline, with registrations falling by 19% to 8,334 in Q1 2024 from 10,280 in the same quarter of the previous year.
