New figures for the second quarter of 2012, released today by NHBC, reveal that new home registrations in the UK decreased by 24%, compared to the same period last year.

There were 33,820 new homes registered between April and June 2011. There were 25,798 registered between April and June 2012.

The northeast, the northwest and the east midlands regions actually saw an increase in registrations but everywhere else declined.

Following a  contraction seen during Q1, public sector registrations declined 49% in Q2 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, bringing overall registration totals down across all new homes for the quarter.

Private sector registrations fell by 10%, with monthly figures for June 2012 failing to match last June’s exceptionally buoyant figures. In April and May 2012 registrations were actually marginally higher when compared to the same months in 2011.

In June 2012, the total number of new homes registered was 8,328 - 43% lower than June 2011’s 14,565. Of these, 6,685 were in the private sector in June 2012, 26% down on the 9,029 in June 2011. Public sector registrations in June dropped 70%, from 5,536 last year to 1,643.

Commenting on the numbers, NHBC commercial director Richard Tamayo said: “As the year progresses we must hope to see a rebound in social housing numbers as providers adapt to new methods of funding. Hopefully the decline in private registrations witnessed in June will, in hindsight, prove to be a statistical blip in what will otherwise be a period of sustained, if modest, private sector volume growth throughout the year.”

• Click here to return to the previous page
• Subscribe to our free construction newsletters