New home registrations in London plunged by 27% last year – warranty provider

Around 11% more new home registrations were recorded in 2025 than the previous year – although registrations in London plunged by 27%, according to a warranty and insurance provider.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) recorded 115,350 new home registrations last year, compared with 103,669 in 2024.

The NHBC has a 70%-plus share of the UK warranty and insurance market for new build homes, and its figures indicate the stock of new properties in the pipeline as homes are registered with it before being built.

Daniel Pearce, corporate strategy director at the NHBC, said: “Our latest figures show increased home building activity, although the volume of new homes built remains below long-term averages.

“Whilst there are some tentative signs of conditions improving for developers to build homes, fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and economic uncertainty continue to impact demand.”

The NHBC said private sector registrations increased by 12% to reach 75,227, compared with 67,265 in 2024.

The rental and affordable sector saw a 10% uplift in the same period, with 40,123 new homes registered in 2025, compared with 36,404 in 2024.

Bucking the trend seen elsewhere across the UK, new home registrations fell by 27% annually in London, with 4,723 registrations last year, down from 6,451 in 2024.

Across the UK generally, there was a 2% annual fall in new apartments being registered. The NHBC said this is likely linked to ongoing affordability challenges in London. Some 16,631 new apartments were registered in 2025, down from 16,937 in 2024.

Mr Pearce said: “We’re increasingly hearing of house builders reducing their operations in London, citing regulatory challenges and cost.

“Set against a decline in affordable housing delivery and a backlog of building control applications, it is unsurprising apartment registrations fell in 2025.”

The NHBC also released figures for new home completions, which it said fell by 2% annually last year.

Some 122,012 completions were recorded in 2025, compared with 124,272 in 2024.

Mr Pearce said: “Accelerating planning reforms and addressing the skills shortage will help house builders deliver quality new homes, but resolving affordability challenges for home buyers remains the key to unlocking demand and boosting house building activity.”

Here are the numbers of registrations last year, followed by the annual change, with a minus figure indicating a decrease, according to the NHBC:

North East, 5,937, 4%

North West, 10,182, 11%

Yorkshire and the Humber, 8,310, 11%

West Midlands, 11,216, 29%

East Midlands, 13,814, 17%

Eastern England, 16,186, 24%

South West, 12,647, 17%

London, 4,723, minus 27%

South East, 16,957, 7%

Scotland, 9,566, 4%

Wales, 3,100, 10%

Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, 2,712, 1%