- Private and affordable sector registrations up 12% and 10% respectively
- London only region to see decline in new home registrations amid regulatory challenges and affordability crisis
- Apartments only house type not to experience growth in 2025
Figures released today by the National House Building Council (NHBC), the UK’s largest provider of new home warranties and insurance, show 115,350 new homes were registered to be built in 2025, up 11% on 2024 (103,669).
Daniel Pearce, Corporate Strategy Director at NHBC explains: “Our latest figures show increased home building activity, although the volume of new homes built remains below long-term averages. Whilst there are some tentative signs of conditions improving for developers to build homes, fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and economic uncertainty continue to impact demand.”
Private sector registrations were up 12% to 75,227, compared to 67,265 in 2024. The rental and affordable sector saw a 10% uplift in the same period, with 40,123 new homes registered in 2025 versus 36,404 in 2024.
While he welcomes these increases, Pearce stresses the importance of new home quality during any period of growth, adding: “Results of the National New Homes Survey administered by NHBC on behalf of the House Builders Federation, have tracked trends in customer satisfaction since 2004. They show that as the number of new home completions increases, the percentage of customers satisfied with the quality of their new home decreases[1]. This trend must be broken as the industry prepares to deliver an increased volume of new homes. NHBC will be seeking to help ensure homes are built to the quality owners and occupiers should expect.”
Across the UK, all regions apart from London experienced year-on-year growth in registrations, with the West Midlands (+29%) and Eastern region (+24%) seeing the highest increases. London registrations were down a significant 27% as lengthy delays at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and a drop in affordable homes delivery impacted development in the capital.
All house type registrations saw an uplift in 2025, except apartments which were down 2%, linked to regulatory challenges, scheme viability and the ongoing affordability crisis in London.
Daniel Pearce comments: “We’re increasingly hearing of house builders reducing their operations in London, citing regulatory challenges and cost. Set against a decline in affordable housing delivery and a backlog of building control applications, it is unsurprising apartment registrations fell in 2025.”
While NHBC’s registration figures provide a positive outlook for house building activity, new home completions stood at 122,012 in 2025, 2% down on 2024 (124,272).
Daniel Pearce adds: “A 2% drop in new home completions is marginal but a vital reminder that industry barriers must be tackled to stand any chance of meeting the government’s promise to build 1.5 million new homes.
“Accelerating planning reforms and addressing the skills shortage will help house builders deliver quality new homes, but resolving affordability challenges for homebuyers remains the key to unlocking demand and boosting house building activity.”
—
About NHBC
NHBC is the UK’s leading independent provider of warranty and insurance for new-build homes. Our purpose is to raise standards in house building by championing high-quality homes and protecting homeowners. We do this through training and quality services and by assessing, inspecting and directly insuring new homes registered with us. Celebrating our 90th year in 2026. For more information, please visit www.nhbc.co.uk.
NHBC’s new-build registration statistics are widely recognised as a leading indicator of house building activity and help to build a broader picture of the market. The data provides long-term trends over decades by sector, house type and regions. NHBC’s Residential Construction Statistics portal gives unparalleled access to residential construction knowledge and insight.
At NHBC, we believe a thriving construction industry depends on a pipeline of well-trained, motivated people who are ready to step onto site from day one with confidence and competence. That’s why we are investing £100 million in a national network of 12 new multi-skill training hubs across the UK. These facilities will deliver high quality trained apprenticeships in key trades including bricklaying, groundwork and site carpentry. The immersive training in real site conditions will provide the next generation with the skills and support they need to succeed in building new homes to the highest industry standard.