Third-quarter statistics from the NHBC have revealed further signs of a housebuilding recovery.
During July to September, NHBC received 24,136 applications to build new homes in the UK – a 4% growth on a year ago.
In the north-east, starts increased by 149% to 858, while the north-west was up 37% to 1,388.
“It is reassuring that NHBC’s figures show consistent improvement and these positive signs extend across the UK,” said NHBC chief executive Imtiaz Farookhi.
“The sector has weathered the traditionally slow summer period, but we must now see out the autumn and hope that this confidence extends to the end of the year.”
Private sector applications were up 17% across the UK to 15,577, while starts in the public sector fell 13% to 8,559.
The average number of daily new home sales was 365 – 15% lower than a year ago but 7% higher than the previous quarter.
Housebuilding applications in Greater London were down 7%. No change was reported in the south-east.
