High Level Summary of Statistics Trend
New Housing Supply
Last update: November 2012
Historic trends in new build showed peaks in the early 1950s and late 1960s resulting primarily from programmes of post-war reconstruction and slum clearances. From a high point of about 41,000 to 43,000 completions a year, mainly in the public sector, the level of new build fell during the early 1980s to under 20,000 completions per year. There was then an overall upward trend to just over 25,000 completions per year by 2007, largely due to private sector new build which represented around 84% of all completions. The remainder of new build was predominantly by housing associations. However in the latest four years there has been a significant decrease back to levels not witnessed since the early 1980s.
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Source: Scottish Government Communities Analytical Services (Housing Statistics)
The recession has hit the private house building industry particularly hard, with a 51% fall in completions since 2007-8. Housing association completions fell by 7% from last year, to 4,776 units this year.
After years of very few new local authority housing completions in Scotland the numbers have started to increase due to the Scottish Government’s introduction in 2009-10 of the Council House Building programme which has provided a major funding boost to date of £80 million. Local authority completions reached 1,085 in 2011-12.
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Source: Scottish Government Communities Analytical Services (Housing Statistics)
Further Information
More information can be obtained from the Housing Statistics for Scotland - New House Building on-line information resource.