Quarterly comparisons

Charts 4 and 5, which show the number of quarterly new build starts and completions in the year to the end of September 2024 compared with the previous year. Comparisons of quarterly data should be made to the corresponding quarter in a previous year as there have been no seasonal adjustments made to the data.

Chart 4: Housebuilding starts for 2023 and 2024, by quarter, year to end September, Scotland.

As Chart 4 shows, there were fewer private sector starts in July to September 2024 compared with the same period in 2023 (-3%; -112 homes). Housing association starts decreased by 51% (-386 homes) but local authority led starts increased by 21% (40 homes).

Chart 5: Housebuilding completions for 2023 and 2024, by quarter, year to end September, Scotland.

Chart 5 shows higher private sector led completions (8%, 266 homes), but lower local authority led completions (-41%; -224 homes) and housing association completions (-22%, -246 homes) when comparing July to September 2024 to the same period in 2023.

Timeseries data along with local authority breakdowns are contained in the supporting Excel tables.