According to the National House Building Council (NHBC), 29,356 new homes were registered in the first quarter.

Though more homes were registered between 2024 and 2025, 1% fewer homes were completed in this period.

The jump in registrations was broad-based with 11 out of 12 regions recording an increase.

Wales recorded the biggest increase in new home registrations with 116% more than at the start of 2024.

The East Midlands and West Midlands recorded the next most significant uplifts, of 102% and 51%, respectively.

In contrast, new home registrations fell by 38% in London as new regulations for high rise buildings and lower demand from housing associations had an impact.

This led to a nationwide 3% fall in apartment registrations, though increases were registered in all other kinds of property.

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There were 20,653 private sector registrations in the first quarter of 2025, up 62% from the same period in 2024.

The PRS recorded a modest fall of 2% to 8,703 registrations at the start of 2025.

“Although we can be distracted by global factors that continue to unsettle markets, the easing of inflation, lower mortgage rates, greater availability of lower deposit mortgages and a strong start to spring sales all point to improving prospects in UK house building,” said Steve Wood, CEO at NHBC.

“This is particularly true for low-rise housing and for regions outside London which are less affected by the delays in approvals from the Building Safety Regulator where the new gateway system is still bedding in.

“In addition, the industry has welcomed the government’s planned investment in infrastructure, skills and planning reform; over time, all of this will help housing supply.”