House Building Falls in Q1 2024 According to NHBC

New housing completions and registrations fell throughout the first quarter of 2024 according to the latest data released by new homes warranty and insurance provider, National House Building Council (NHBC), with the reasons for the decline named as ‘challenging economic conditions’, ‘skill shortages’, and the ‘eighth wettest winter on record’.

Housing registrations fall by 20% on previous year

‘Challenging economic conditions’, ‘skill shortages’, and the ‘eighth wettest winter on record’ are named as the three main reasons housing completions have fallen throughout the first quarter of 2024 by the NHBC – down by 20% compared to the same period in 2023.

Throughout Q1 2024, NHBC recorded just 21,967 new home registrations, a decrease of -20% compared to Q1 2023, with private homes making up 13,633 of these new registrations, and just 8,334 registrations falling into the rental and affordable homes sectors – despite the supposed focus on affordable housing in the current climate of the UK property market – a drop of -21% and -19% respectively.

A staggering nine out of the 12 UK regions saw declining levels of registrations according to NHBC against Q1 2023 with the biggest falls being seen in East Midlands, Wales, and the North West and Merseyside which all say decreases of -43%, -43%, and -41% respectively, which is also expected to continue to further influence the imbalance between supply and demand of rental properties in these regions.

The only three regions which saw increases in housing registrations were London (+2%), Scotland (+4%), and Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man (+23%).

Housing completions are down by 13% compared to 2023

Housing registrations for each house type fell during Q1 2024 – with apartments recording the lowest fall in registrations (-12%) and both terraced homes and bungalows recording the highest falls at -26% and -42% respectively.

Completions were also down by 13% compared to the previous year, with just 26,240 new homes completed in Q1 2024 – a 19% decrease for private sector homes and a 1% decrease for rental and affordable home completions.

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