More retirement homes were registered to be built in the UK in the first six months of this year than the whole of the previous year, according to new figures released by NHBC.

Builders registered a total of 2,337 properties specifically designed for the elderly in the first six months of 2015 - outstripping the total 1,919 which were registered for the whole of 2014.

The growth in retirement homes comes as NHBC reported that more than 6,400 new homes were registered by councils in Scotland during the last three months – an increase of 26 per cent on the same period last year.

In total, 6,430 new homes were registered by local authorities, compared to 5,103 registered during Q2 last year.

In the UK as a whole, 41,268 new homes (30,462 private sector; 10,806 public sector) were registered, compared to 36,986 (27,388 private sector; 9,598 public sector) registered during Q2 last year.

The NHBC Foundation – NHBC’s research arm – has commissioned two separate pieces of research to better understand the future housing needs of our ageing population as well as people looking to downsize.

Commenting on the latest registration statistics, NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: “We are very encouraged to see an increase in the number of retirement homes being registered. It is widely acknowledged that the UK has a shortage of homes for the elderly, which is having a knock on effect on the rest of the housing market.

“Our figures show that 2015 is shaping up to be an encouraging year for new housing growth with new housing registrations up 12 per cent on the second quarter of last year.

“However, we have made clear that while all signs of growth are to be welcomed, the UK is still building way below the volumes of homes that we need. There is a long way to go before our housing crisis is over.”

Mike Jennings, group operations director for retirement house builder McCarthy & Stone, said it is encouraging to see a growing number of retirement property registrations.

He added: “In the first six months of 2015 we have registered 1,850 new retirement apartments with the NHBC and we will be investing £2 billion in land and build over the next 4 years, which will deliver around 12,000 new retirement properties.

“However more has to be done to address the needs of last time buyers. There is a chronic undersupply of specialist retirement housing in the UK. We would like to see a national strategy for retirement housing and stronger government policies to support its provision.

“We look forward to working with the NHBC Foundation to advance thinking and create solutions to address the housing needs of our ageing population.”

Download the full report here.