Key Points

New housebuilding by sector

• There were 18,347 homes built (completed) and 14,846 new builds started in the year to the end of September 2025. Completions (-1,498; -8%) and starts (-738; -5%) were lower than the previous year.
• The private sector built 14,225 homes and started 11,815 new builds in the year to the end of September 2025. Completions (-751; -5%) and starts (-392; -3.2%) were lower than the previous year.
• The social sector built 4,122 homes and started building 3,031 homes in the year to the end of September 2025. Completions (-747; -15%) and starts (-346, -10%) were lower than the previous year.
• Looking at years to the end September and excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding), private sector completions were the lowest since the year to the end of September 2018 and starts were the lowest since the year to the end of September 2013. In the social sector, completions were the lowest since the year to the end of 2017 and starts were the lowest since the beginning of this data collection from year to the end of September 1997.
• There have been notable upward revisions to starts (+575) and completions (+381) across Q1 and Q2 2025, mainly due to private-sector activity in the City of Edinburgh. Further detail is provided in the Data and Methodology section.

Affordable Housing Supply Programme

• In the year to the end of September 2025, there were 5,222 approvals, 5,494 starts, and 6,582 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 were decreases in affordable housing supply approvals (-1,460, 22%), starts (-853, -13%), and completions (-1,931 -23%) in the year to the end of September 2025 compared with the previous year.
• Affordable housing supply approvals were 55% lower than the most recent peak in approvals in the year to the end of September 2019. Starts were the lowest since the year to the end of September 2013 and completions were the lowest since the year to the end of September 2014.
• 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 2025, 31,064 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. These completions consist of 24,112 (78%) homes for social rent, 4,345 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,607 (8%) for affordable home ownership.