Private sector new home registrations fell 7% in the first quarter of 2026 against the same quarter of last year, as housebuilders face the “’perfect storm’ of rising costs and falling demand”, NHBC said today (May 12). It warned that the wider impact of the Middle East conflict would affect registrations. NHBC’s new home statistics for Q1 2026 show that 18,072 new private homes were registered to be built against 19,439 in Q1 2025. The rental and affordable sector also saw a year-on-year decrease in registrations for the same period, down 4% to 8,887.