The National House Building Council (NHBC) said that 3,471 new homes were registered over the quarter compared to 3,543 homes between May and July. The figure is higher than the 3,442 new homes which were registered between March and May and the 3,189 homes between January and March.

Year on year the number of new homes registrations is up almost 28 per cent on the 2,715 new homes between June and August 2014.

Across the UK as a whole, the new home registrations statistics reveal an increase of 11 per cent for the rolling quarter June – August, compared to the same period last year. A total of 40,101 new homes were registered in the UK during this period, up on the 36,149 new homes registered in the previous year.

The private sector increased by 12 per cent during this period (30,210 in 2015; 27,072 last year), with the public sector increasing by 9 per cent from last year (9,891 in 2015; 9,077 last year).

However, registrations for August were down marginally by 6 per cent (10,362 compared to 11,037 last year) – the first time since January that figures fell below last year’s respective monthly totals. For the month, the private sector was marginally down by 1 per cent (8,401 in 2015, 8,476 August 2014), with the public sector down 23 per cent (1,961 versus 2,561 last August); this decrease follows six consecutive months of growth when compared to last year for the public sector.

NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: “Despite a slight decrease for August, overall registration levels for the rolling quarter show the same steady growth we’ve seen throughout 2015.

“However, we are now seeing registration volumes fall in the public and affordable sector after a good start to the year. This may be due to many housing associations holding back on developments in light of welfare reforms and the cap on rental increases. We will closely monitor this over the coming months, along with the private sector, as the house building industry strives to build more new, quality homes that the UK needs.”

Region

June – August

2015

June – August

2014

England - Regions

North East

1,444

1,241

North West

3,451

3,040

Yorkshire & the Humber

1,855

2,422

West Midlands

3,569

3,775

East Midlands

3,385

3,156

Eastern

4,642

3,838

South West

3,461

3,545

Greater London

8,310

5,006

South East

4,505

5,454

Totals for England

34,622

31,477

Scotland - Councils

3,471

2,715

Wales - Unitary Authorities

1,202

1,257

Northern Ireland - Counties

806

700

Totals for UK

40,101

36,149