New Home Registrations Decline as Costs Surge

There were 26,959 new homes registered to be built in Q1 2026, down 6% on Q1 2025 (28,715), according to figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC).

Private sector registrations were down 7% to 18,072, compared to 19,439 in Q1 2025, while the rental and affordable sector saw a 4% fall, with 8,887 new homes registered versus 9,276 in Q1 2025.

‘Perfect Storm’

Daniel Pearce, Corporate Strategy Director at NHBC explains: “Our latest figures indicate house builders are taking a cautious approach to registering new plots as fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and global economic uncertainty continue to impact demand.

“It’s a perfect storm – the market is subdued, mortgage rates are rising and cost pressures on households are in full effect, exacerbated by geopolitics and recent conflicts. Resolving affordability challenges for homebuyers remains the key to unlocking demand. The market is crying out for some targeted stimulus, such as a new buyer incentive, to help those who need it most get on the housing ladder.

“At present, there is little incentive for developers to accelerate building. Easing certain regulatory requirements, at a time when other costs are rising beyond their control, is a lever that could be pulled to support home builders, particularly SMEs. Accelerating planning reforms is also crucial to help house builders deliver high-quality new homes at volume. The impact of the recent planning changes has yet to be felt.”

Regional Registrations

Across the UK, 8 out of 12 regions saw a decline in registrations in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, with the biggest decreases in Northern Ireland (-44%), London (-37%) and Wales (-21%). The North West saw the greatest rise (+27%), with the North East (+15%), Yorkshire and The Humber (+7%) and West Midlands (+2%) also experiencing an uplift.

Registrations were down for all house types apart from detached homes, although just 62 more detached plots were registered in Q1 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

Outlook

Looking ahead to Q2, Daniel Pearce, Corporate Strategy Director at NHBC comments: “The wider economic fallout from the Middle East conflict will impact new home registrations as developers face rising costs that could slow down land purchases, reduce activity on site and create additional barriers to the government’s ambition to build 1.5 million new homes.

“Looking at options to support buyer demand, particularly for first-time buyers and those who need it most, is crucial, whilst reducing controllable costs to home builders, such as regulatory requirements and planning, can stimulate supply. Both demand and supply levers are needed if we are to get close to 1.5 million new homes.”

COMMENT

Chris Wheaton, Senior Director in the Economics team at Pegasus Group, said: “The latest NHBC figures highlight the importance of creating the right conditions to support consistent housing delivery over the long term. While there are always uncontrollable variables – in this case, geopolitical conflicts affecting supply chains – the Government does have a lot of agency to create a policy environment that is rewarding for developers and focused on delivering high-quality, well-designed places.

“Moves such as the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme and GLA Emergency Measures are a step in the right direction but won’t do enough on their own to counteract recent geopolitical events. If the Government is serious about boosting supply, we need a radical change to planning policy, much greater public investment in affordable homes, as well as a scale-back of development taxation to viable levels. You have to make housebuilding worth a developer’s time. Stable policy conditions and a reduction or restructuring of turnover-based taxes are part of making that happen.”

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