New figures from the National House Building Council show a drop in completed new homes. A total of 12,712 new homes were registered in the UK during April, according to NHBC’s latest new home statistics.

Of these, 9,446 were registered in the Private Sector (11,008 in April 2016), with 3,266 in the affordable sector (3,029 in April 2016), representing an overall decrease of 9% on last April’s total of 14,037.

The continuing rise of Generation Rent and its best friend: the Private Rented Sector

However, for the rolling quarter there were 43,561 new home Registrations (Feb 2017 – April 2017), compared to 40,140 in the same period last year, an increase of 9%. Private sector registrations increased by 2% over this period (31,970 in 2017; 31,443 in 2016), with affordable sector increasing by 33% (11,591 in 2017; 8,697 in 2016).

The notable increase in affordable sector registrations can be attributed to a number of larger Housing Associations developing homes for market rent, private sale and shared ownership along with a rise in joint ventures with the private sector.

Over the rolling quarter all but two of the 12 UK regions experienced growth, including Wales (35%), East Midlands (22%) and West Midlands (20%), when compared to the same time last year.

NHBC Managing Director Neil Jefferson said:

“The strong start to this year’s new home registrations has continued with further encouraging figures across the majority of the country. With demand for new homes remaining strong, this growth in both the private and affordable sectors, and across most regions of the UK, is reassuring.”

Meanwhile, £27.7 billion is set to be invested in the UK’s build to rent sector over the coming five years.

The sector, which is intended to boost supply levels in the private rented market, is a priority for the UK government, which is putting its eggs in the baskets of developers, while introducing punitive measures and costs for smaller landlords.

With institutional investors from overseas destinations, like North America, looking for new markets to deploy their capital, the sector is hoping to attract funding from overseas. And, according to CBRE’s new Build to Rent Barometer, which monitors and measures domestic and global investor interest in Build To Rent, a large chunk of investment is currently targeting the scheme.

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There is currently £27.7 billion worth of equity targeting the sector over the next five years. The research suggests that a quarter of this capital is domestic, while almost half originates from North America. The main constraint for investors continues to be a lack of available stock with the ratio of deployable equity to marketed stock currently at 14:1.

Peter Burns, Managing Director of CBRE UK Development, says:

“There is limited standing stock in the UK which has led to increased interest from investors looking to acquire either platforms or development opportunities released by housebuilders who see this new sector as a great way to accelerate delivery of stock.”

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