New home registrations dropped during April to 8,414 but remain level with figures recorded this time last year, according to NHBC.
April registrations were down from 13,307 the previous month, but March’s statistics were skewed due to 2,800 units in the London Olympics Athletes’ Village being registered.
During February-April, new homes registrations totalled 30,638 compared with 31,038 in the same period last year.
However, registrations for the year to date reveal no material change with last year (38,426 compared to 38,438 in 2010).
“April’s registration figures were lower than those recorded earlier in the year, perhaps reflecting continued uncertainty within the market and the general lack of mortgage availability for consumers,” said Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC.
“However, housebuilder sentiment seems to remain relatively high, as reflected in their announcements to the market. It will be interesting to see if these positive sentiments are reflected in registration numbers over the coming months, as we would anticipate.”
Private sector registrations for February-April were down 7% (19,192), while public sector registrations were up 9%, to 11,446.
