The number of new homes being registered by builders rose by 9% in the first half of the year compared with January to June 2010.

Figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show 63,832 new properties were logged in the opening six months of 2011, up from 58,571 registrations in the corresponding period of last year.

Public sector registrations jumped by 15% on an annual basis, rising from 20,182 to 23,132, while private sector builders logged 40,700 homes, up 7% on the first half of 2010, when they finished 38,389 houses.

The NHBC said the total had been boosted by registrations of properties in the Athletes’ Village ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

NHBC chief executive, Imtiaz Farookhi, said: “With mortgage lending still at historically low levels there remains uncertainty about whether new home sales levels will be sufficient to sustain this increased activity. We will therefore follow activity during the second half of the year with optimistic interest.”
Steve Lees, director at SmartNewHomes, said of the figures: “ The latest NHBC data paints a more positive picture of the new homes market. An 11% increase in new home registrations in Q2, compared to the same period last year, is certainly encouraging. However, there is still a vast gap between the number of new homes being built and the number needed to make up the massive shortfall between supply and demand in the UK, and until mortgage finance and the supply of land for development improves, the situation is unlikely to improve drastically.”