This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Housebuilding declined sharply in London and the Midlands last year as political and economic uncertainty around the shape of Brexit hit the housing market, according to industry figures.

The number of new homes in London registered by housebuilders with the National House Building Council (NHBC) in 2018 fell 10% from the previous year to 16,069, the biggest annual drop since 2016. In the east Midlands and West Midlands, registrations were also down 10%, to 13,447 and 13,087 respectively following two strong years.

The NHBC is the main warranty provider for new homes and covers 80% of the UK market. Developers register new homes a few weeks before starting construction. The official housebuilding data for 2018 will be released in March.

Across the UK, housebuilders registered 159,617 new homes in 2018 , down 0.5% from 160,396 in 2017. The private sector is down 1% (117,497 registrations) while the affordable sector – homes registered by housing associations – was stable at 42,120 new homes in 2018.

There were big regional variations. Half the UK regions showed growth – Yorkshire & Humberside up 20%, the north-west up 7%, Northern Ireland up 39%, albeit from a small base, the south-east up 3% and eastern England up 2%.

Other surveys and government data have painted a similar picture of a slowing UK housing market in London and parts of the south-east, but still growing in northern England and the Midlands.

The number of new homes completed rose 1% to 149,480 last year, according to the NHBC. The figures illustrate the challenge housebuilders face in meeting the government’s target of 300,000 new homes a year by 2023.

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The NHBC’s chief executive, Steve Wood, urged developers to adopt modern methods of construction, such as offsite building of housing units in factories, which speeds up construction as work is not dependent on the weather.

“Unless modern methods of construction are taken up to a greater degree, it will be very difficult to get to 300,000,” he said.

Wood said 2,500 bricklayers were needed to build 10,000 homes, and with Brexit looming, the UK cannot rely on imported skills. He also noted that developers were working closely with colleges to train more skilled tradespeople.