How homes built since 2016 are banded
Homes built in England from 2016 to March 2026 are banded higher, on average, than the homes built before them. The 2,171,080 homes on the list with a build year from 2016 onwards have 31.3% of their number in bands A and B, against 44.2% for older homes. Band A alone falls from 24.5% of older homes to 13.5% of new ones.
The middle home is in band C in both groups nationally, so the shift sits mainly at the bottom: fewer new homes in band A, more in bands C, D and E.
| Band | Built 2016 to 2026 | Built before 2016 | Difference (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 13.5% | 24.5% | -11.0 |
| Band B | 17.8% | 19.7% | -1.9 |
| Band C | 24.5% | 21.8% | +2.7 |
| Band D | 19.2% | 15.4% | +3.8 |
| Band E | 13.7% | 9.5% | +4.2 |
| Band F | 7.0% | 5.0% | +2.0 |
| Band G | 3.6% | 3.5% | +0.1 |
| Band H | 0.7% | 0.6% | +0.1 |
Council by council
Comparing the middle new home with the middle older home in each council: the new home sits in a higher band in 135 of the 317 councils with at least 100 homes built since 2016, in the same band in 162, and in a lower band in 20.
The widest gap in England is in Hartlepool, where 72.2% of older homes but only 27.0% of newer homes are in bands A and B. Gateshead and Blackburn with Darwen follow. The reverse happens in a few places: in Castle Point, 54.9% of new homes are in bands A and B, against 23.1% of older ones.
Where the most building has been
Measured as a share of the stock, the newest housing is in South Derbyshire, where 19.6% of homes were built from 2016 onwards. By number, Leeds leads with 34,230.
| Council | Homes built 2016–2026 | Share of stock | Middle new home | Middle older home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Derbyshire | 10,200 | 19.6% | Band C | Band B |
| Tower Hamlets | 29,170 | 19.2% | Band E | Band C |
| Salford | 25,680 | 18.5% | Band B | Band A |
| Tewkesbury | 8,530 | 17.9% | Band C | Band C |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 12,080 | 17.7% | Band D | Band D |
| Vale of White Horse | 11,730 | 17.7% | Band D | Band D |
| Harborough | 7,770 | 17.0% | Band D | Band C |
| Newham | 22,780 | 16.9% | Band D | Band C |
Year by year
Homes on the list at 31 March 2026, by recorded build year. The part year 2026 is left out.
The busiest year on the English list is 2021, with 244,300 homes recorded as built. The 2025 figure, 174,450, is the lowest of the run, and the first three months of 2026 add 8,520. These are homes still on the list in March 2026 by the year the Valuation Office records them as built; they are not a count of completions, and recent years may still rise as new homes are added to the list.
Reading the shift
New homes are banded on what they would have been worth in April 1991 (April 2003 in Wales), so the shift says nothing about today's prices. Where the building happened matters too: South Derbyshire and Tower Hamlets have added far more homes for their size than any council in the North East, where the newest stock is in Newcastle upon Tyne (9.7%). Each council page on this site shows its own pair of strips for homes built before and after 2016. In Wales the middle new home is in band D, against band C for older Welsh homes.
The regions compared
For each region, the table gives the number of homes built from 2016 to 2026, their share of the stock, and the share of new and older homes in bands A and B. Wales is listed for completeness; its bands rest on 2003 values and are not compared with the English figures.
| Region | Homes built 2016–2026 | Share of stock | New in bands A–B | Older in bands A–B | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 92,750 | 7.2% | 39.0% | 69.9% | -30.9 |
| North West | 265,870 | 7.6% | 43.8% | 61.6% | -17.8 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 190,440 | 7.4% | 44.2% | 63.5% | -19.3 |
| East Midlands | 210,360 | 9.3% | 45.2% | 60.0% | -14.8 |
| West Midlands | 215,250 | 8.1% | 38.0% | 56.0% | -18.0 |
| East of England | 267,230 | 9.2% | 28.3% | 35.5% | -7.2 |
| London | 323,000 | 8.4% | 11.0% | 17.1% | -6.1 |
| South East | 374,720 | 8.9% | 20.9% | 25.7% | -4.8 |
| South West | 231,720 | 8.5% | 32.8% | 42.1% | -9.3 |
| Wales | 80,010 | 5.4% | 23.1% | 35.8% | -12.7 |
The gap between new and older homes is widest in the North East, at -30.9 points. In the North East the newer homes are spread far more evenly across the bands than the older stock, which is dominated by band A. In London, where few homes of any age are in bands A and B, the gap is -6.1 points.
The yearly series in detail
The recorded build years rise from 205,260 in 2016 to 236,540 in 2019, dip to 202,630 in 2020 and reach their highest point, 244,300, in 2021. From 2022 the figures fall each year: 237,330, 216,040, 205,240 and 174,450. The council pages give each council's busiest year in the same series.
Wales
Wales has 80,010 homes on its list with a build year from 2016 onwards, 5.4% of its stock. Of these, 23.1% are in bands A and B, against 35.8% of older Welsh homes, and 17.9% are in band F or above, against 13.1%. The direction is the same as in England, measured on the Welsh 2003 scale. The Welsh guide has the council-level detail.
Regions and councils
Among the English regions, homes built from 2016 onwards make up the largest share of the stock in the East Midlands (9.3%) and the smallest in the North East (7.2%). The spread between councils is far wider than between regions: from 1.7% to 19.6%.
Source: Valuation Office Agency (now the Valuation Office, part of HM Revenue & Customs), Council Tax: stock of properties, 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See how the figures work.