by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The number of new homes being built has risen in recent months, but only modestly in the south east amid warnings the nation is not building enough.

With the bank holiday weekend expected to boost viewings ahead of the traditional autumn house-buying season, the south east saw a small increase of just 100 in the three months to July 2010 (4,476) compared to the same period a year ago (4,376).

The NHBC, which issued the figures, welcomed the rise but warned that the nation was still not building enough homes to meet anticipated demand.

The NHBC said that the national figure rose from 9,263 in June to 10,638 in July, an increase of 1,375. The figure is also an improvement on July 2009 when 8,403 new homes were registered.

In the three months to July, NHBC received 30,771 registrations to build new homes - a 30 per cent increase on the same period last year (23,661).

Earlier this week, housebuilders Kent-based Bovis Homes Group and Persimmon both reported solid half-year growth, although the market is still constrained by mortgage concerns, especially for first-time buyers.

Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC, said: "It is encouraging that we have seen a rise in registrations during July, after the dip in June, however this should not be taken out of context. It does seem clear that following the very strong recovery we witnessed in the first quarter of the year, volumes appear to have reached a plateau at levels well above last year's depressed volumes, but still materially below their long-term trend.

"Our figures seem to reflect what much of the housing sector is thinking - that too few homes are being built. Yet we know the UK needs more homes and it is vital that somehow the industry is able to deliver on those needs. The coming months will be crucial as we head towards the Chancellor's spending review and the very important autumn sales season for the housing."