Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update: New Housebuilding and Affordable Housing Supply to end March 2025
This statistical publication presents latest quarterly figures to end March 2025 on new housebuilding and Affordable Housing Supply, along with annual rates of new housebuilding and affordable housing supply per head of population, with comparisons to other UK countries.
Part of
All-sector new housebuilding
Chart 1: All Sector new housebuilding starts and completions, 2003-04 to 2024-25
Chart 1 shows the annual number of all sector starts and completions from 2003-04 to 2024-25. During this period starts decreased from 2006-07 until they gradually started increasing after 2010-11, until a peak in 2019-20. Completions decreased from 2007-08 and generally started to increase from 2013-14, until 2019-20. Starts and completions in 2020-21 were affected by Covid-19 restrictions. After 2020-21 completions and starts increased and then started to decrease from 2022-23.
In total there were 19,288 newbuild homes completed, and 15,053 new build homes started in 2024-25. This includes social sector led and private sector led new build completions and starts.
New build house completions and starts decreased between 2023-24 and 2024-25, as Chart 1 indicates. New housebuilding completions and starts decreased by 4% (-746 homes) and 11% (-1,906 homes) respectively.
Excluding 2020-21 where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding, new build completions were the lowest since 2017-18. Starts were at the lowest point since 2012-13.
Map A shows that in 2024-25, the highest new build rate was in Midlothian which had a rate of more than 75 homes completed per 10,000 population.
The lowest rates were observed in Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Scottish Borders, Shetland Islands, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire which each had rates of 25 homes or fewer per 10,000 population.
Note that all-sector completion rates calculations contain some estimated figures for East Dunbartonshire, South Ayrshire, Na h-Eileanan Siar, and Stirling. Further details are in the Data and Methodology section.
Map A: New build housing – All Sector completions: rates per 10,000 population, in 2024-25
The latest quarterly data and comparison to the corresponding quarter in the previous financial year are shown in the ‘Quarterly Comparisons’ section. Timeseries data along with local authority breakdowns are contained in the supporting Excel tables.