House building in the UK is set to top 2014 levels this year, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC).

Recent figures show the new home registrations statistics increased 11% for the rolling quarter of June and August.

In total, 40,101 new homes were registered in the UK during this period, an increase on 36,149 new homes registered in the previous year.

During this period, the private sector increased by 12% (30,210 in 2015; 27,072 in 2014) with the public sector increasing 9% from last year (9,891 in 2015; 9,077 last year).

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However, in August registrations decreased by 6% (10,362 compared to 11,037 in 2014), the first time since January that figures fell below 2014 levels.

The private sector was also down 1% in August (8,401 in 2015, 8,476 last year) while the public sector decreased 23% (1,961 against 2,561).

NHBC said the decrease follows six months of growth when compared to the public sector last year.

NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said: "Despite a slight decrease for August, overall registration levels for the rolling quarter show the same steady growth we've seen throughout 2015.

"However, we are now seeing registration volumes fall in the public and affordable sector after a good start to the year. This may be due to many housing associations holding back on developments in light of welfare reforms and the cap on rental increases. We will closely monitor this over the coming months, along with the private sector, as the house building industry strives to build more new, quality homes that the UK needs."

(LM/MH)