Housing statistics: quarterly update, December 2017

New Build Housing – Private-led Housing

The private sector is the biggest contributor to overall house building, accounting for more than four-fifths (82%) of all homes completed in the 12 months to end June 2017.

Chart 5: Annual private sector led new build starts and completions, years to end June

Chart 6: Quarterly new build starts and completions (private-led)

Trends over the last ten years

In 2007 and 2008 (years to end June) the number of private sector homes started were around 20,000 while completions were around 20,000 to 22,000. Private sector led new build housing was hit particularly hard by the recession. The number of homes completed dropped steeply over the period from 2008 to 2010 then continued to decrease more gradually to under 10,000 in 2013. Since then, the number of homes completed increased each year, bringing completions through the year to just under 13,500 in the year to end June 2017.

In September 2013 the Scottish Government introduced the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme which has aimed to support buyers purchasing a new build home and to stimulate the house building industry. Following this, the Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build and Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developers schemes were launched on 21 January 2016. Further information on the schemes, along with monitoring information setting out numbers of sales, is available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/BuyingSelling/help-to-buy.

Trends to end June 2017

Between April and June 2017, 3,684 private sector led homes were completed; 7% (232 homes) more than the same quarter in 2016 (see Chart 6). This brings the total for the year to end June 2017 to 13,470, which is 59 homes (0.4%) more than the 13,411 completions in the previous year.

Meanwhile there were 3,972 private sector led starts between April and June 2017, up 15% on the same quarter in 2016. This brings the total for the year ending June 2017 to 13,364, which is 5% (668 homes) more than the 12,696 starts in the previous year.

Sub-national figures for the year to end June 2017

Map B shows the rates per 10,000 head of population of private sector led new build completions in each local authority for the year to end June 2017.

The highest completion rates have been in Midlothian, East Lothian, Fife, the Orkney Islands, and Moray. The lowest rates meanwhile, have been in West Dunbartonshire, Dundee City, North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, and Glasgow City.

Map B: New build housing – private sector completions: rates per 10,000 population, year to end June 2017