Key Points

New housebuilding by sector

• There were 19,828 homes built (completed) and 14,768 new builds started in the year to end September 2024. Completions (-2,324; -10%) and starts (-1,954; -12%) were lower than the previous year.
• The private sector built 15,056 homes and started 11,697 new builds in the year to the end of September 2024. Completions (-673; -4%) and starts (-1,959; -14%) were lower than the previous year.
• The social sector built 4,772 homes and started building 3,071 homes in the year to the end of September 2024. Completions (-1,651; -26%) were lower than the previous year and starts (5; 0%) were like the previous year.
• Looking at years to end September and excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding), private sector completions were the lowest since 2018 and starts the lowest since 2013. In the social sector, completions were the lowest since 2017 and starts (which were similar to 2023) were at the lowest levels when looking at data from the past 20 years.

Affordable housing supply programme

• In the year to the end of September 2024, there were 6,682 approvals, 5,925 starts, and 8,413 completions of affordable homes funded by the Scottish Governments affordable housing supply programme. This includes affordable homes for social rent, affordable rent, and affordable home ownership. They also include off the shelf purchases and rehabilitations as well as new builds.
• There was an increase in affordable housing supply approvals (524, 9%) and there were decreases in starts (-514, -8%), and completions (-2,373, -22%) in the year to the end of September 2024 compared with the previous year.
• Affordable housing supply approvals were 42% lower than the peak in approvals in the 12 months to September 2019. Starts were the lowest since the year to end of September 2013 and completions were the lowest since 2017 excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding).
• These statistics are used to inform progress against Scottish Government affordable housing delivery target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be for social rent and 10% will be in rural and island communities. By September 2024, 24,382 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. These completions consist of 18,539 (76%) homes for social rent, 3,501 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,342 (10%) for affordable home ownership.