22 October 2021

Detached homes at most popular since 2002, says housebuilding industry body

22 October 2021

Detached homes make up the highest proportion of new build properties being registered since 2002 as demand for spacious properties increases, according to an industry body.

More than a third (36%) of new homes registered to be built in the third quarter of 2021 were detached, compared with 28% in 2020, according to the NHBC (National House Building Council), which has a 70% to 80% share of the UK warranty market.

Homes are registered with the NHBC before being built – so its figures are an indicator of the housing stock in the pipeline.

The latest figures show detached homes are now at their most popular since the second quarter of 2002, when compared with other house types, the NHBC said.

The 36% figure for the percentage of homes being built which are detached is the highest proportion recorded since 2002, although, by volume, there have been occasions more recently where the number of detached homes being built has been higher.

The move away from apartment blocks is affecting London

Flats made up just 13% of new home registrations in the third quarter of 2021, falling from 29% in the same period last year.

Total new home registrations were up by 14% compared with a year earlier to 33,779 in the third quarter of 2021.

The highest rises were in the East Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber, although registrations in London fell by 78%.

NHBC chief executive Steve Wood said: “There is confidence in new homes despite the significant supply-chain disruption presently being experienced.

“Housebuilders are responding swiftly to shifts in consumer demand for detached houses that offer more space. The move away from apartment blocks is affecting London but this is only one quarter’s data.”

Here are new home registrations in the third quarter of 2021 and the percentage increase or decrease, according to the NHBC:

North East, 1,834, 86%

North West and Merseyside, 4,430, 22%

Yorkshire and the Humber, 2,517, 63%

West Midlands, 3,229, 41%

East Midlands, 4,810, 103%

Eastern England, 4,184, 30%

South West England, 2,949, minus 1%

London, 1,139, minus 78%

South East, 4,319, 6%

Scotland, 2,627, 50%

Wales, 888, 6%

Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, 853, 7%

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