The number of new homes registered with the National House Building Council (NHBC) has increased from the previous year, according to new figures.

In total, 41,268 new homes (30,462 private sector, 10,806 public sector) were registered during second quarter of this year, compared to 36,986 (27,388 private sector, 9,598 public sector) registered during the Q2 last year.

The NHBC Foundation figures show northern regions are powering much of the growth, with the North West & Merseyside reporting a 74% increase in new homes registered in the quarter from April to June, an increase from 2,243 last year to 3,911.

London and the South East continue to drive new housing growth in terms of volume of homes registered.

However, there was a 2% drop in the numbers of new homes registered in the capital over the rolling quarter, while the South East experienced a drop of 16%.

Yet, more retirement homes were registered in the first six months of this year than the whole of 2014.

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Builders registered a total of 2,337 properties specifically designed for the elderly in the first six months of 2015, compared to the total 1,919 registered for the whole of 2014.

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."

For the first six months of this year, total new home registrations reached 81,487, an increase on the 71,152 new homes registered by NHBC members in the first half of 2014.

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 4 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."

(LM)