Data and methodology

More detail on the data and methodology can be found in the explanation of quarterly housing statistics note and data quality, sources and suitability notes.

The data are sourced from local authority administrative systems and the Scottish Government Housing and Regeneration Programme (HARP) system.

New build information is provided for starts (when the foundations are begun) and completions (when a building inspector deems the property complete).

In general, the number of starts will be a strong indicator of the likely trend in completions over the longer term, but there may well be differences over the short and medium term depending on factors such as the housing market, economic climate, access to finance, and speed of construction.

A wide range of factors can influence the length of time it takes for a new private dwelling to be constructed, including the type of property (house, flat etc.), and the overall size of the site. Depending on the size of the site, the average time from start to completion of the entire site can range from anywhere between around 1.5 years to 2.75 years. Individual homes, or blocks of homes, might be completed in shorter timescales if parts of the site are completed in advance of the rest.

Private sector construction activity includes not only homes built for private sale but also some homes which are subsequently used in the affordable housing sector and self-build activity by local builders.

The figures have not been seasonally adjusted and so commentary tends to compare the latest 12-month period with the previous 12-month period, or the latest quarter with the same quarter in the previous year.

It should be noted that the amount of all-sector new housebuilding activity recorded in the quarters January to March 2020 and April to June 2020 will have been impacted by the introduction of measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) from mid-March to late June, in which non-essential construction activity stopped and home buyers were advised to delay moving to a new home where possible, after which there has been a phased re-start of supply activity.

Also note for housing association new build figures presented prior to April 2018 that approvals are used as a proxy for housing association new build starts due to data quality considerations in the historic series for starts.

A small number of local authorities have private and local authority-led new build data estimated due to delays in the provision of this data. These are:

• Aberdeen City, private-led starts and completions since 2023 Q4
• East Dunbartonshire, private-led starts and completions since 2020 Q4.
• South Ayrshire, private-led starts and completions since 2022 Q4.
• Stirling, private-led starts and completions since 2022 Q1.
• Na h-Eileanan Siar, private-led starts and completions since 2023 Q4.
• Glasgow City, private-led starts and completions for 2024 Q2
• Aberdeen City, local authority led starts and completions since 2022 Q1. In the September 2024 publication we have updated Aberdeen City data for 2021 Q4. This in turn has updated previous estimates made for local authority new housebuilding starts and completions from 2022 Q1 onwards. The data from 2022 Q1 are still estimates. We are working with the authority to receive more up to date data.

We are working with these local authorities to obtain these figures and aim to replace these estimates with actual figures in future publications.

As with previous publications, the estimates of private-led new build activity for local authorities with missing data are each based on an average of the preceding four quarters, with an adjustment made to account for different overall levels of construction activity seen in particular quarters, which is based on the aggregate trends from the local authorities who have provided data across the period in question.

Also as with previous publications, Highland starts data has been estimated since 2006 Q3, based on the completions data provided by the authority as an estimated level of contribution to national level new build housing starts.

Additional estimates have been made for local authority led new housebuilding starts and completions, as detailed above. As with previous estimates for local authority led new housebuilding figures, these estimates are based on separate starts and completions figures taken from the HARP system.

As with previous publications, Glasgow private-led figures for the period Q2 2020 to Q1 2022 have been based on data provided by Glasgow Council for all-sector figures across this period, from which we have derived the private-led component by netting off housing association starts and completions based on separate social sector new build figures taken from HARP system. Since Q2 2022 starts and completions by sector are now based directly on the data provided.

A number of additional historic corrections provided by local authorities have also been made, for example where more up-to-date data for activity related to previous quarters has come to light.

Further details of these revisions, along with the impact on national totals, are detailed in Tables R1a to R7b in the Supporting Charts and Tables Excel document.