In the 12 months up to June 2023, Scotland saw the completion of 23,346 all-sector new build homes, marking a 7% increase compared to the previous year.
This uptick is significant, being the highest for an end-June annual figure since 2008. The growth in numbers is primarily due to increases in private sector completions, which rose by 9% or 1,342 homes, and housing association completions, which went up by 18% or 728 homes. On the flip side, local authority completions fell by 23% or 589 homes.
Conversely, the report highlighted a drop in the number of new build starts across all sectors, down by 12% to 17,425 in the year to end June 2023.
This decrease is the lowest annual figure for an end-June period since 2016. Private-led new build starts also experienced a decline, down by 7% or 1,085 homes, as did housing association new build starts, which fell by 21% or 599 homes, and local authority new build starts, which plummeted by 32% or 656 homes.
Separately, the Affordable Housing Supply Programme’s latest statistics indicated a rise in affordable homes completed, with 1,780 new homes finished in the quarter from April to June 2023. This brings the total for the year to 10,757, a 12% increase over the last year and the highest annual figure since records began in 2000.
The number of approved affordable homes took a hit, however, down by 22% to 6,042, the lowest figure since 2013. Meanwhile, a total of 13,354 affordable homes have been completed towards the Scottish Government’s 2032 target of 110,000 homes.
