<p><span>The coronavirus pandemic has hit UK registration figures, with the number of homes registered to be built falling 30% between January and September year-on-year, according to NHBC’s latest figures.</span><br/></p><p><span>During the first three quarters of 2020, 83,359 new homes were registered compared to the 119,476 of January to September 2019.</span></p><p><span>Quarter two saw the largest drop, with registrations halving to 20,102 compared to Q2 2019 as the lockdown impacted sites.</span></p><p><span>And between January and September, new home completions reduced 30% to 76,154 against the same period in 2019.</span></p><p><span>But Q3 figures showed encouraging signs, NHBC said, with builders returning to sites and swiftly adapting to Covid-19 protocols. New home completions dropped 4% year-on-year to 33,440, “reflecting the strong sales demand that has persisted for new build homes,” NHBC noted.</span><br/></p><p><span>New home registrations also showed some recovery in Q3, particularly in September, but they were still down 25% at 29,587 against Q3 2019.</span></p><p><span>Of the Q3 registrations, 18,319 were for the private sector, a 33% drop year-on-year. And 11,268 were for the affordable and build to rent sector, down 6%.</span></p><p><span>Registrations fell across several UK regions during Q3. But the North West &amp; Merseyside saw a 15% increase, while London was level year-on-year, achieving 5,111 registrations.</span></p><p><span>Steve Wood, NHBC’s …