Housing statistics: quarterly update, September 2016

New Build Housing - All sectors

The new-build section of this document provides figures on the number of homes started (when the foundations are begun) and completed (when a building inspector deems the property complete).

Figures are presented for homes built on privately led (referred to throughout as private sector), local authority led (referred to as local authority sector) and housing association led (referred to as housing association sector) sites. For the private sector the latest information available is for the quarter ending March 2016. Whilst more up-to-date information is available for local authority and housing association new build, findings for these sectors are mainly presented up to March 2016 to simplify comparisons between sectors.

The figures have not been seasonally adjusted and so commentary tends to compare the latest quarter with the same quarter the previous year. To help with this, Quarter 1 figures (from January to March) have been highlighted in the charts to allow easy comparison over time. Some of the peaks in the number of starts in Quarter 2 (April to June) each year are due to large numbers of housing association approvals being granted near the end of the financial year.

Chart 1 shows the number of private sector, social sector and total new homes completed each quarter since 2005, whilst Charts 2 and 3, below, show annual and quarterly trends in starts and completions across all sectors.

Chart 2: Annual all sector new build starts and completions, years to end March, 2006-2016

Chart 3: Quarterly new build starts and completions (all sectors) since 2005

Trends over the last ten years:

Chart 2 shows that between 26,000 and 28,500 homes were started each year in 2006 and 2007 (years to end March) whilst completions were slightly lower, around 24,000 to 25,000.

Charts 1 to 3 all clearly show the impact of the recession in the second half of the last decade, with private sector led completions in particular falling throughout 2008 and the start of 2009. Completions for all sectors fell more gradually between 2010 and 2013, before increasing through 2014 and 2015 before falling slightly in 2016.

Trends to end March 2016:

There were 3,970 new build homes completed between January and March 2016; a 2% decrease on the same quarter in 2015. This brings the total for the year to end March 2016 to 15,854, down 2% (355 homes) compared to the 16,209 completed in the previous year.

There were 4,596 new build homes started between January and March 2016; 7% fewer than the same quarter in 2015. This brings the total for the year to end March 2016 to 16,910 which is up by 4% (664 homes) compared to the 16,246 homes started in the previous year.

Comparison with the rest of the UK from 2006 to 2016:

Each of the countries of the UK produces their own statistics on new build housing and all use broadly consistent definitions. New build statistics for each of the countries of the UK, as well as for Great Britain and the UK as a whole can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

As Chart 4 shows, the rate of house building completions in Scotland has been above that of England and Wales throughout the 2006 to 2016 period. The rate of house building completions in Scotland has been below that of Northern Ireland between 2006 and 2014, after which the rates have been similar in 2015 and 2016.

The 15,854 homes completed in Scotland in the year to end March 2016 equates to a rate of 30 per 10,000 population. This is the same as Northern Ireland (30), but higher than the equivalent rates in England (25) and Wales (22).

Chart 4: New house building as a rate per 10,000 population for UK countries, years to end March, 2006-2016

Sub-national figures for the year to end March 2016:

The information on new build housing in Scotland is collected and published at local authority level. Map A, below, shows new house building in the year to end March 2016, as a rate per 10,000 population.

In the year to end March 2016 the highest new build rates were observed in Midlothian, Aberdeenshire, Orkney Islands, Na h-Eileanan Siar, and Stirling. The lowest rates were observed in Argyll & Bute, Dundee City, Angus, Dumfries & Galloway and North Lanarkshire.

Map A: New build housing - all sector completions: rates per 10,000 population, year to end March 2016