Private sector new housebuilding

The private sector is the biggest contributor to overall house building, accounting for just over three quarters (76%) of all homes completed in the year to the end of December 2024. Some of the homes the private sector builds will be built for social rent and subsequently reported in the affordable housing supply programme figures.

In the year to the end of December 2024, there were 15,066 private sector led house building completions and 11,617 starts, as Chart 2 indicates. Private sector led new build completions have decreased by 1% (-119 homes), whilst starts have decreased by 12% (-1,605 homes) in the year to the end of December 2024 compared with the previous year.

Chart 2: Private sector new housebuilding starts and completions, 2004 to 2024 (year to end December)

Chart 2 shows the annual number of private sector led house building starts and completions from 2004 to 2024 (ending in December). Excluding 2020 where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding, new build completions were the lowest since the year to end of December 2017. Starts were at the lowest point since the year to end of December 2013.

Map B illustrates that East Lothian, Midlothian, Na h-Eileanan Siar and West Lothian are local authorities with the highest private sector led completion rates in the year to the end of December 2024 (rate of over 45 homes built per 10,000 population).

The lowest are Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire with rates of 15 or fewer homes built per 10,000 population.

The latest quarterly data and comparison to the corresponding quarter in the previous year are shown in the ‘Quarterly Comparisons’ section. Timeseries data along with local authority breakdowns are contained in the supporting Excel tables.