Looking back at 2015

As we enter a new year, NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton looks back at 2015 and how the housebuilding sector can expect to fare over the next 12 months.

It is very pleasing to be able to take stock and look back at what has been another positive year for our industry.

Continuing on from the favourable growth seen over the last three years, 2015 has maintained and improved upon existing new home levels with NHBC registrations showing another encouraging year.

Challenges

The year was not without its challenges and of course, we also experienced a very eventful General Election, with months of speculation in the run-up to May. However, much of the uncertainty for our sector, predicted by many around this period, failed to materialise with steady new home registration levels a constant feature through the whole year.

I know that NHBC, and other organisations within the industry, have continued to emphasise this message, but despite the upturn for UK housebuilding, collectively we must not lose sight of the fact that the country still has a drastic shortage of quality new homes.

Indeed, the issue of construction quality is paramount in all of NHBC’s work, engaging with the industry and its vast array of stakeholders to ensure build quality remains front and centre of this activity.

It is now, more than ever, especially clear to see from NHBC’s registration figures that the sector has partly recovered from the effects of the recession and to attempt to fully capitalise on this, we have been looking ahead at the new set of challenges on the horizon, with annual UK registrations almost back to their long-term average.

At NHBC, 2015 saw a major recruitment campaign to bring on board more highly-skilled inspectors and new senior roles to help oversee and manage the increasing new home volumes we are witnessing across virtually all parts of the UK, and also for the growth we hope to see in the coming years.

Additionally our new Major Projects Team, set to be based at our new London offices, will help support those customers building large, complex projects across the country but predominantly in the capital. These projects, overseen by a dedicated, experienced team, will often involve the use of innovative building techniques which are rarely seen in regular housing developments.

Landmarks

The year also saw the 30^th anniversary of NHBC’s Building Control service, which carries out more than 400,000 inspections each year across the country and the 10^th anniversary of our dedicated LQE service. The LQE team will be working on some notable sites over the coming year, including the landmark Priors Hall site in Corby, where 5,000 new homes are expected to be built over the next 20 years.

By evolving and tailoring our services, NHBC is able to offer an unparalleled range of inspection related provisions to our registered builders at this time of considerable growth in the UK new homes market.

Despite the many challenges the housebuilding sector continues to face, NHBC has been an effective partner in supporting the industry, working with builders to stay abreast of changes, and retain the right skills to enable the construction of high standard and quality homes.

As always, NHBC’s mission is to ensure construction quality of the very highest standard in new homes across the UK and that this emphasis on quality remains unwavering – particularly during periods of increased activity and production.

For many of us, it can appear that the demands and pressures for new homes are unrelenting. But, by planning ahead as we approach the end of a buoyant three-year period for the UK house-building industry, we can more easily help those builders face the next set of challenges, regardless of size or sector.

I sincerely hope that the next 12 months represents another productive and rewarding year for our sector and I feel that, collectively, we are well placed to ensure that this is the case.

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