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SEPTEMBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Growth of homes
for the elderly
More retirement homes were registered to be built in the UK in the first six months of this
year than the whole of the previous year, according to new figures released by NHBC.
Builders registered a total of
2,337 properties specifically
designed for the elderly in
the first six months of 2015,
outstripping the total 1,919
which were registered for
the whole of 2014.
The growth in retirement homes
comes as NHBC reported that
more than 41,000 new homes
were registered in the UK during
the last three months; an increase
of 12% on the same period last
year.
In total, 41,268 new homes
(30,462 private sector; 10,806
public sector) were registered,
compared to 36,986 (27,388 private sector; 9,598 public sector)
registered during Q2 last year.
The figures show that northern
regions are helping to power
growth in the new housing sector
with the North West & Merseyside
reporting a massive 74% increase
in new homes registered in the
rolling quarter from April to June
2015 - up from 2,243 last year to
3,911.
While London and the South East
continue to drive new housing
growth in terms of volume of
homes registered, there was a
slight 2% drop in the numbers of
new homes registered in the capital over the rolling quarter. The
South East saw a drop of 16%.
The public sector is also showing encouraging signs of a revival
with a 13% increase in affordable
homes registered in the whole of
the UK over the last three months
from 9,598 in Q2 2014 to 10,806
in Q2 2015.
As the leading warranty and
insurance provider for new homes
in the UK, NHBC’s quarterly registration statistics help to provide
new and accurate data on the
country’s new homes market.
The NHBC Foundation, NHBC’s
research arm, has commissioned
two separate pieces of research
to better understand the future
housing needs of our ageing pop-
‘more has to be done’
ulation as well as people looking
to downsize.
Commenting on the latest registration statistics, NHBC Chief
Executive Mike Quinton, said: “We
are very encouraged to see an
increase in the number of retirement homes being registered. It is
widely acknowledged that the UK
has a shortage of homes for the elderly, which is having a knock on
effect on the rest of the housing
market.
“Our figures show that 2015 is
shaping up to be an encouraging year for new housing growth
with new housing registrations up
12% on the second quarter of last
year.
“However, we have made clear
that while all signs of growth are
to be welcomed, the UK is still
building way below the volumes
of homes that we need. There is a
long way to go before our housing crisis is over.”
Mike Jennings, Group Operations Director for McCarthy &
Stone, said: “As the UK’s leading
retirement house builder we are
encouraged to see a growing
number of retirement property registrations. In the first six
months of 2015 we have registered 1,850 new retirement
apartments with the NHBC and
we will be investing £2 billion in
land and build over the next four
years, which will deliver around
12,000 new retirement properties.
“However more has to be done
to address the needs of last time
buyers. There is a chronic undersupply of specialist retirement
housing in the UK. We would
like to see a national strategy for
retirement housing and stronger
government policies to support
its provision.
“We look forward to working
with the NHBC Foundation to
advance thinking and create
solutions to address the housing
needs of our ageing population.”
NHBC UK Q2 statistics for April
- June 2015 show that:
During April 2015 - June 2015
the number of registrations was
41,268, a 12% increase on last
year (36,986). Of these:
• Private sector registrations in
April 2015-June 2015 increased
by 11% (30,462), compared
with the same period last year
(27,388)
• Public sector registrations in
April 2015-June 2015 increased
by 13% (10,806) when compared to the same period last
year (9,598)
NHBC’s role is to support the
industry in maintaining and improving the build quality of new
homes for homebuyers, whilst
providing the benefit of its 10 year
Buildmark warranty protection,
when required.
www.nhbc.co.uk