According to the National House-Building Council (NHBC), this is the highest level of registrations since pre-crisis levels a decade ago.
Meanwhile, new home completions rose 4% to 147,278 from 141,685.
‘Registrations’ refer to the process of a builder registering a new plot or home to be built in the coming months or weeks.
However, data on housing starts – the number of homes where construction has begun after registration – was unavailable.
NHBC is a non-profit warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, and covers around 80% of new homes – meaning that its data can be used as a gauge for the new build sector.
The data release also comes as an independent review of the new build sector is taking place, which will look into the gap between the number of planning permissions granted and the number of homes actually built.
Data breakdown
Within the NHBC data, the private sector accounted for 118,825 new homes registered – a 3% jump from 115,375 in previous year.
While the affordable sector made 41,781 registrations – a 14% rise from 36,642 in 2016, and the highest yearly total for the sector since NHBC began collecting electronic records 30 years ago.
Affordable housing is defined as homes with controls requiring a rent of no more than 80% of local market levels.
On a regional breakdown, nine out of 12 UK regions saw higher registration numbers, with London seeing a slight increase from 17,587 in 2016 to 17,850 in 2017 – the first increase in the capital since 2014.
Commenting on the statistics, NHBC chief executive Steve Wood said: “Our figures show the market has delivered strong growth resulting in the highest new home figures for a decade and growth across the majority of the UK, including London for the first time since 2014.”
“Looking ahead, NHBC will continue to work with the industry to help raise the standards of new homes. With 6% growth in the quantity of new home registrations, the focus on delivering quality for consumers remains critical,” said Wood.
