Scottish Housing Market Review: Q2 2023

10. Housing Starts & Completions

New build completions – all sectors

New housebuilding completions have increased since the Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential construction activity were eased in Q3 2020. There were 23,512 new build completions across all sectors in Scotland in the year to end Q1 2023, an increase of 8.8% (1,897 homes) on the previous year. This is outlined in Chart 10.1, which includes the breakdown of new build completions by sector. Meanwhile, there were 19,204 new build starts across all sectors in the year to end Q1 2023, down by 24.9% (6,382) relative to the year to end Q1 2020 (pre-pandemic).

Source: Scottish Government

Affordable Housing Supply Programme

Chart 10.2 shows that the number of affordable homes delivered has increased since the restrictions on non-essential construction activity were eased in Q3 2020. 10,458 affordable housing completions were recorded over the one year to Q1 2023, an increase of 7.2% compared to the year prior, and the highest annual figure since the start of the statistical series in 2000. However, over the same period approvals have fallen by 18.2% to 6,396, whilst starts have decreased by 15.1% to 6,987. This potentially reflects the ongoing challenges with construction material inflation (as shown in Chart 11.3).

Source: Scottish Government