The severe December weather didn’t dampen housebuilders’ spirits, as the last quarter of the year saw an increase in new home registrations, according to NHBC.
Figures from NHBC for new home registrations in December 2010 show an increase on 2009 figures, with just over 7,385 registrations during the month (compared to 7,149 in 2009). These, added to the previous 11 months, mean year end numbers look set to end approximately 30% higher than overall registrations reported in 2009 (115,458 in 2010 compared with 88,083 in 2009).
Month on month, December 2010 figures were down on November 2010 – a traditional trend for the industry, reflecting a shorter month over the festive season.
Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC, said: “No one is popping champagne corks but there is a growing belief that the worst is now behind us and we’re on the road to recovery.
“The pace and extent of that recovery really depends on factors out of the hands of the industry, such as mortgage availability and monetary pressures on consumers. These are the biggest obstacles that the house building sector now faces for the coming year.”
NHBC statistics for the rolling quarter October – December 2010 show that:
· Private sector registrations were up 1 per cent (to 18,551) when compared with the same period last year (18,393)
* Public sector registrations were 8,711 – 13 per cent higher than the same period a year ago (7,685)
· Registrations in the combined private and public sectors were 5 per cent up on the same period in 2009 (27,262, up from 26,078)
