Almost 16,000 new homes built in Scotland in the past year

Almost 16,000 new homes were built in the 12 months leading up to June 2016, an increase of four per cent on the same period the previous year, new figures reveal.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released the latest Scottish housing statistics, including quarterly information on new builds, affordable housing supply and local authority right to buy applications and sales, as well as annual information on long term empty homes.

There were increases in the number of new homes completed in the private sector (up by 537), housing association houses (up by 46), and local authority new builds (up by eight), compared to the previous year.

Minister for Housing Kevin Stewart said: “It is good news the number of new build houses being completed has risen to almost 16,000 in the last year, with the rate in Scotland remaining higher than the UK average.

“We are investing £160 million to support home ownership this year and since 2007, our home ownership schemes have supported over 22,000 households to buy a home.

“Looking to the future it is also hugely encouraging to see the rise of affordable housing supply approvals, up by 34 per cent, which shows the impact of the Scottish Government’s commitment of £3 billion as we continue our progress to deliver 50,000 affordable houses in this parliamentary term.”

The total number of long term empty properties and second homes has decreased by 1,871, from 63,736 in September 2015 to 61,865 in September 2016.

Scotland’s house building industry body, Homes for Scotland, described the figures as a step in the right direction but pointed to an eleven per cent drop in private sector starts over the same period.

Nicola Barclay, chief executive, said: “Whilst this increase in completions is welcome, at less than 600 homes, much more obviously needs to be done in order to effectively tackle Scotland’s housing crisis and this will require many thousands of new homes of all tenures.” 

She said over the period from 2010, annual completion levels have “effectively flatlined” at an average of around 15,000.

“We now see a worrying drop in the total number of homes being started, with alarming disparity between public and private sectors,” she added.

“The system therefore remains in need of resuscitation to ensure that the pipeline of new homes coming through is not blocked or delayed by bureaucratic processes.”