The number of detached homes developed increased by 24% last year, according to figures from the National Home Building Council (NHBC).

The renewed vigour in the detached market comes as NHBC reported a 9% increase in the overall volumes of homes registered from 133,670 in 2013 to 145,174 in 2014.

Significantly, the regions saw a particularly strong year for housing growth with areas such as Yorkshire and Humber (+24%) and the West Midlands (+16%) seeing big increases. Across the UK, Wales (+33%), Scotland (+9%) and Northern Ireland (+17%) all saw registrations out-stripping last year's volumes.


Overall, the private sector recorded a 13% increase on last year with 110,403 new homes registered compared to 97,399 the previous year. Public sector volumes were down slightly by 4% from 36,271 in 2013 to 34,771 in 2014, which may be a result of changes in funding through the Affordable Homes Programme.

Commenting on the 2014 annual registration statistics, NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said: "We are encouraged to see that overall house-building levels grew by 9% last year – building on the strong volumes registered in 2013. The regions were the big drivers of growth in 2014 showing that the recovery is no longer centred in London and the South East.

"It looks like the detached home is making a comeback with our figures showing that housebuilders are building the highest number of detached properties for a decade with semis also performing well.

"Following an oversupply of flats outside London over the last decade, the growth in detached homes is restoring balance to the country's housing stock to meet the diverse needs of the UK population."

(CD/JP)