Figures released today by the National House Building Council (NHBC) show 26,231 new homes were registered in Q3 2026. This is down 13% on Q3 2025.
With affordability pressures continuing to weigh on demand and supply-side barriers constraining delivery, private sector registrations fell 8% to 18,359, compared to 20,054 a year earlier. Registrations in the rental and affordable sector fell 23% to 7,872 from 10,225 in Q3 2025.
Housing industry faces mounting challenges
Daniel Pearce, Chief Strategy Officer at NHBC explained, “The housing industry is at a critical point. Demand remains fragile, affordability is stretched and our latest figures show that the pipeline of new homes is continuing to shrink. Without action to support demand and tackle the barriers to delivery, increasing housing supply will remain extremely challenging.
“The Government’s proposed Your First Home equity loan scheme is a significant and welcome step towards tackling one of the market’s biggest challenges – affordability. The Budget now needs to provide clarity on how this scheme will operate. Targeted support for first-time buyers could help more people achieve home ownership while supporting demand for new homes. However, its effectiveness will depend on getting the design right. This includes the nature of developer contribution and ensuring that any price and salary caps are set to reflect local market conditions and support viability and affordability.
“Alongside planning reform, greater regulatory certainty and stability is critical to investor and house builder confidence and to long-term delivery. A clear forward programme of regulatory change, with sufficient lead times and coordinated implementation, would give businesses greater confidence to invest in delivering more new homes, including in the skills and capacity needed to support it.”
10 of the UK’s 12 regions saw a decline in registrations in Q3 2026 compared to Q3 2025. The largest falls were in the South East and Northern Ireland at -32%. Wales fell by -24%. Meanwhile, Yorkshire and The Humber saw the strongest growth of 27%, followed by the West Midlands at 10%.
Following a 170% year-on-year increase in Q2 2026, London registrations returned to broadly the same level as Q3 2025. Quarterly registrations in the capital can be particularly volatile, reflecting the timing of large developments. However, the longer-term picture in London remains subdued with new home registrations falling from 5,130 in Q3 2019 to 1,223 in Q3 2026.
Registrations fall across all property types
Registrations fell across all house types in Q3 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Builders registered just 267 bungalows and 3,217 apartments as they focused on financial viability and stronger buyer demand.
Looking ahead to the Autumn Budget, Daniel Pearce added, “Our new homes data underlines the scale of the challenge facing Government and the industry if it is to materially increase housing supply. The proposed Your First Home scheme is a welcome and important step, but there is no single solution. Sustainable growth will require action on both demand and supply. It will need to focus on improving affordability for buyers while creating conditions for developers and investors to build with confidence by considering delivery costs, planning and regulatory constraints and investment barriers. The Budget is an important opportunity to make progress on both sides of the equation.”
