New home registrations over the last three months remain at a similar level to the same period a year ago, according to the latest National House-Building Council (NHBC) figures.

In total, 37,582 new homes (30,046 private sector; 7,536 public sector) were registered between August and October compared to 37,707 (29,784 private sector; 7,923 public sector) in 2014.

In October 16,434 new homes (12,965 private sector; 3,469 public sector) were registered, an increase of 17% on the same month last year (11,188 private sector; 2,809 public sector). One reason for the substantial volumes seen during October is that builders registered new homes in time to take advantage of the lower rate of Insurance Premium Tax, which increased by 3.5% on 1 November.

Commenting on the new registration statistics, NHBC chief executive, Mike Quinton, said: “The last three months have seen new home registrations in line with the corresponding period a year ago. However, we expect to be reporting growth for 2015 as a whole, as the first 10 months of 2015 show a 10% increase in registrations compared to the same period last year, this is still well below the number of new homes we need. We welcome today’s announcement and that housing remains a key priority for government.”