The latest figures from NHBC show a 9% decrease on 2011 levels, which contributed to public sector housing registrations dropping from 36,680 in 2011, to 26,390 in 2012.
The level of private house building in the UK did show a degree of stability in 2012, however, with 78,120 new homes registered, compared to 78,250 in 2011.
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NHBC commercial director, Richard Tamayo, said: "In summary 2012 was a challenging year for the house building industry overall but ended on an encouraging note with Q4 figures 17% up on the same period for 2011. With Government-backed schemes such as NewBuy and Funding for Lending helping to increase mortgage availability, there are reasons to believe that 2013 may see the industry able to build on some of the positive momentum we saw towards the end of 2012, which does seem to be carrying over into January.
"Nonetheless, with house-building volumes so far below the numbers desperately needed in the UK, this is clearly an issue that needs to remain at the heart of Government policy."
(IT)
