GROWING demand for traditional family homes has pushed the numbers of detached houses being built to levels higher than at the height of the 2007 property boom.

Family standing outside of house

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Families want room to expand and a garden for children helping a boost in demand for detached houses

Ever since the much-criticised density targets imposed on local councils and developers by former deputy prime minister John Prescott in 2000, much of Britain has been covered by blocks of flats.

But clamour from buyers who need room to expand their families and want a garden for the children have seen detached properties making a “comeback”, according to the National House Building Council.

As many as 38,113 new build properties of this type were registered with the industry body in 2014, which is the highest number recorded for any year since 2004 and a 24 per cent increase on 2013.

Detached homes now make up more than one quarter (26 per cent) of all homes being built and if London is removed from the data, that rises to a third.

In 2008, almost half (49 per cent) of new build homes being registered were flats, while just 15 per cent were detached homes.

NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: “It looks like the detached home is making a comeback. Following an oversupply of flats outside London over the last decade, the growth in detached homes is restoring balance to the country’s housing stock.”

Some 48,685 flats were registered with the NHBC last year - down from 90,221 flats recorded during the boom in 2007.

The number of new build semi-detached homes also increased on 2013, rising by 12 per cent to 31,650 though bungalows and terraced homes being registered fell year-on-year. 

It looks like the detached home is making a comeback

Mike Quinton

Some 26,600 terraced homes were registered in 2014, representing a two per cent annual fall, while 2,059 bungalows were registered, showing a 16 per cent drop.

Across all types of property, 145,174 new homes across the UK were registered with the NHBC last year, marking a nine per cent increase on 2013 and the highest annual total since 2007 as the economic recovery continues.

Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales, Northern Ireland, the West Midlands and the South East are all now outpacing London in terms of the year-on-year percentage growth in the number of new builds being registered.

Wales recorded the strongest percentage jump, with registrations up by one third on 2013.  Eastern England was the only UK region that recorded a year-on-year fall in new build registrations in 2014, with a six per cent fall.

The figures are taken from builders who are responsible for around 80 per cent of homes built in the UK. Builders are required to register a house with the NHBC before starting work, which means its figures represent homes that are to be built in the months ahead.

Despite the boost in new build numbers, the NHBC said that 2014’s total remains below the average of 153,000 registrations seen per year over the last four decades.

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