New build housing completions up four per cent

A quarterly statistical publication from the Scottish Government revealed that 16,000 homes were completed across all sectors in the year to September 2015.

The number of private led completions stood at 12,125, two per cent higher than the previous year. Housing association completions were 10 per cent higher at 2,828, while local authority completions came to 1,051, seven per cent higher than the previous year.

A total of 17,360 new build homes were started over the year to September 2015, a nine per cent increase on the previous year. This increase was mostly driven by a 10 per cent increase in starts in the private sector, as well as a six per cent increase in the social sector.

The homes completed in Scotland in the year ending September 2015 equates to a rate of 30 homes per 10,000 people in Scotland compared to 25 in England, 21 in Wales, and 28 in Northern Ireland.

Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: “As these positive figures illustrate, our increased investment in house building has helped stimulate a welcome rise in completions across all types of homes.

“This is a team effort; we will continue to work with all sectors to promote the building of new homes and support jobs in the construction industry.

“We have a strong record on housing, having exceeded our target of delivering 30,000 affordable homes in this Parliamentary term.

“Over the next five years we have committed to delivering at least 50,000 affordable homes, which represents a 67 per cent increase on our current target, backed up with investment of more than £3 billion.”

Trade body Homes for Scotland said the four per cent increase is a positive signal for growth but cautioned that there is still a long way to go if the country is to see the numbers required to properly meet the diverse needs and aspirations of its growing population.

With the Scottish Government highlighting that an annual nine per cent rise in the total number of starts was mostly driven by private sector-led activity, chief executive Nicola Barclay pointed to the vital role that the hugely successful Help to Buy shared equity scheme has to play in building on this momentum to deliver more homes and jobs.

She said: “With an all-tenure approach crucial to effectively tackling Scotland’s chronic undersupply of housing, these latest statistics indicating that all sectors have shown increases in completions over the last year are welcome.

“However, we are still some way off our manifesto call for 10 per cent year-on-year growth to address the backlog of demand and there are a number of uncertainties in the market including the impact of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), the ongoing planning review and more restrictive criteria for Help to Buy going forward.”

Ed Monaghan, chief executive of Mactaggart & Mickel Group, said the figures are welcome news for the industry, especially during a time of change and uncertainty.

He added: “With house prices and sales also on the increase, it marked a buoyant end to 2015 which we as a business have seen continue into the first quarter of 2016 in terms of footfall and reservations. The New Year and launch of the latest tranche of Help to Buy (Scotland) funding in January will hopefully continue to drive the market.

“We will, however, be continuing to monitor the impact of Land and Building Transaction Tax on the sale of top tier properties.”