New home registrations for 2015 remain at a higher level than last year, with strong growth reported in May, according to new figures released by the National House Building Council (NHBC).

The figures show encouraging signs of a revival in the public and affordable housing sector, which saw an 8% increase in registrations in May.

Statistics on registration of the UK’s new homes are released monthly by NHBC, a warranty and insurance provider for newbuilds.

For the rolling quarter of March to May, registrations increased by 15% compared to the same period last year (43,987 in 2015; 38,247 in 2014), mirroring the strong growth already reported by NHBC this year.

The private sector grew by 17% during this period (33,046 in 2015; 28,216 in 2014), with the public and affordable sector also up by 9% (10,941 in 2015; 10,031 in 2014).

For May, 14,392 new homes were registered (11,162 private sector; 3,230 public sector), a 9% increase on the 13,194 homes (10,198 private; 2,996 public) registered in the same month last year.

NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton said: “So far in 2015 we have seen new home registrations remain consistently ahead of 2014 levels, which is clearly encouraging news for the industry.

“There have also been signs that the public and affordable sector is continuing to improve while the uncertainty predicted by some around the period of the General Election failed to materialise, with steady growth a constant feature throughout the year to date.”