Housing statistics quarterly update: March 2021

2. Delays to new housebuilding statistics due to COVID-19, and estimates made for a small number of authorities

The Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update as at March would usually include an update on all-sector new house building starts and completions to end September in the preceding year, with more recent figures on social sector new builds to end December. However due to COVID-19 related delays in data provision by some local authorities, this publication includes figures on all-sector new house building starts and completions only up to end March 2020, with more recent figures on social sector new builds only up to end June 2020.

These impacts on the provision of data have also meant that two local authories have been unable so far to provide any data on new build figures since the start of the pandemic period. We have therefore estimated private-led new build starts and completions figures for both East Dunbartonshire and Glasgow City local authority areas for the two quarters 2019 Q4 and 2020 Q1. We have also estimated private-led new build starts and completions figures for Dundee City for the most recent quarter 2020 Q1 due to a delay in provision of this data.

These private-led new build estimates have been based on an average of the previous four quarters, with an adjustment made for 2020 Q1 to account for the slightly lower levels of construction activity seen in this quarter due to the impact of COVID-19. This adjustment is based on aggregate trends from the 29 local authorities who provided data for Q1 2020.

Separate figures from the UK House Price Index on new build sales transactions are provided in Section 5 as an alternative measure of private-led new housebuilding activity in Scotland over the more recent period to end October 2020.

This publication also includes some revisions to previously published figures due to more recent updated figures that have been supplied. Figures have been revised to replace previous estimations for local authority starts and completions for Stirling (January to March 2020) and Highland private sector led starts and completions (October to December 2020). In addition, the North Lanarkshire figure for private sector starts and completions has been revised due to the resubmission of the private sector new housebuilding form to correct an error for October to December 2019. A small number of additional historic corrections provided by local authorities have also been made. Further details on these revisions are available in the Excel tables.