SCOTLAND has experienced a 12% decrease in all sector housebuilding starts and a 10% drop in completions between 2023 and 2024 (year ending September), new Scottish Government figures have revealed.
In the 12 months ending September 2024, there were 19,828 homes built and 14,768 new builds started. All sector completions and starts were 10% and 12%, respectively, lower than the previous 12 months.
The private sector built 15,056 homes and the social sector built 4,772 homes. In terms of starts, building work on 11,697 was started by the private sector and 3,071 homes by the social sector.
Excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding), private sector completions were the lowest since the year to end of September 2018 and starts the lowest since the year to end of September 2013. In the social sector, completions were the lowest since the year to end of September 2017 and starts alongside the previous year, were at the joint lowest level over the past 20 years.
In terms of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, in the year to the end of September 2024, there were 6,682 approvals, 5,925 starts, and 8,413 completions of affordable homes. The number of completions and starts were down by 22% (-2,373 homes) and 8% (-514 homes) respectively compared to the year to end September 2023. However, approvals increased by 9% (524) between 2023 and 2024 (year ending September).
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 2024, 24,382 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. These completions consist of 18,539 (76%) homes for social rent, 3,501 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,342 (10%) for affordable home ownership
Scottish Government housing minister Paul McLennan said, “The Scottish Government has a strong track record in delivering affordable homes, with today’s latest quarterly housing statistics showing more than 135,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2007, with more than 95,500 of those being for social rent. That is 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales.
“We will continue to build on that record by increasing the affordable housing budget by over £200 million next year to £768 million, but the only way to unlock that funding is for parliament to back the budget.
“We are continuing to deliver affordable homes in innovative ways and I have seen the difference our Charitable Bonds programme, which is a type of loan given to registered social landlords, has made to delivering homes in one development in Wallyford.
“Building on the success of the Scottish empty homes partnership that has helped almost 11,000 empty properties become homes since 2010, next year we will invest £2 million into bringing more privately owned empty homes back into use.
“We are also focused on working with partner organisations to identify how our planning system can help to provide these solutions. This decisive and properly targeted action, based on evidence, will provide more homes and better places for people to live in.”
