Starts and completions of new build dwellings in the UK, on a quarterly and annual basis, time series data

Residential building contractors are contingent on the propensity of property developers to invest in new ventures; movements in property prices; government schemes intended to boost the housing supply; and underlying sentiment in the housing market. Industry contractors have endured turbulent operating conditions over the past five years, leading to volatile shifts in revenue and profitability. Revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.4% over the five years through 2025-26, reaching £99.7 billion. The pandemic caused a significant drop in output in 2020-21, as restrictions placed on on-site activity and fewer enquiries for new housing units reduced revenue opportunities. Aided by government support for the housing market and the release of pent-up demand, 2021-22 was characterised by a strong rebound in activity, though materials and labour shortages maintained constraints on output. Mounting supply chain disruption and heightened economic uncertainty maintained pressure on output in the following year, though revenue growth was maintained by growth in average selling prices. Interest rate hikes and inflationary pressures led to a more subdued housing market in 2022-23, holding back the number of housing starts and completions during the year. This was followed by a slump in new residential building construction in the following year, as high borrowing costs and uncertain market conditions caused developers to scale back investment plans. The new Labour government has put forth ambitious housing targets, leading to planning reforms, increased funding for SME housebuilders and a particular focus on affordable housing to speed up housing delivery. Even though economic conditions continue to affect investor sentiment, supportive supply-side policies are anticipated to boost revenue growth by 0.5% in 2025-26. This growth is expected to also be fuelled by an uptick in new orders for residential building construction, coupled with a rise in average selling prices. Revenue is slated to climb at a compound annual rate of 2.3% to reach £112.5 billion over the five years through 2030-31. Housebuilding activity is set to grow in the medium-term, aided by the release of pent-up demand. Nonetheless, significant uncertainty remains, with mortgage rates likely to settle well-above pre-pandemic levels and supply chains remaining fragile. The new government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million houses during the first five years of parliament will boost demand for industry contractors, though the full impact of this on growth prospects is dependent on the nature and extent of accompanying funding plans.

This statistic shows housebuilding completions in England from the fiscal year of 2001/02 to the fiscal year of 2017/18, showing the mix between houses and flats each year. In the fiscal year of 2017/18, houses accounted for ** percent of residential buildings constructed in England.

The number of housing starts was forecast to increase by 22,000 units in 2025 in comparison to the previous year. After that, the number of new construction starts is predicted to grow significantly, reaching 244,000 new housing starts in 2029.

Time-series data on starts and completions of new build dwellings in English regions on a quarterly basis (now produced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as Table 217).

Private companies were responsible for most of the new homes built in the United Kingdom (UK), amounting to 139,470 units in 2024. Housing completions in the UK decreased for three years in a row between 2007 and 2010. This was followed by several years of fluctuation and a gradual increase from 2013 to 2019. The number of homes completed in England remained relatively stable in 2022 and 2023, after reaching a low point in the second quarter of 2020 due to the restrictions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Construction starts and completions Comparing the number of starts and completions in London side-by-side shows that whenever there is a significant growth or fall in the number of projects started, that peak or valley tends to be reflected in the number of buildings completed a couple of years later. Nevertheless, disruptions, delays, and other obstacles may affect that correlation. Still, observing how many home construction projects started in the UK can provide some insight into the level of activity that construction companies may have in the near future. Given that the number of housing starts is forecast to fall in 2024, there might be slightly less work to be carried out the following year. Nevertheless, housing starts are expected to pick up again by 2025 and 2026. Housing associations in the UK Housing associations are not-for-profit organizations created to develop and rent homes for a lower price than in the private market. They have acquired certain relevance in the UK, although this type of organization also exists in other countries. On several occasions during the past decade, over a fifth of housing starts in London were developed by housing associations. Meanwhile, the number of new homes completed in Scotland by housing associations has increased a lot throughout the years, with several thousand units constructed every year during the past decades.

The UK Residential Construction Market is Segmented by Type (Apartments & Condominiums, Landed Houses & Villas, and Other Types), by Construction Type (New Construction and Renovation), by Construction Method (Conventional On-Site, Modern Methods of Construction), by Investment Source (Public, Private), and by Geography (London, Birmingham, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Dwellings built, starts and completions, by tenure, House building: permanent dwellings completed, by tenure, by house and flat, number of bedrooms etc and country.

Over half of SME house builders in England considered that the planning system was one of the main constraints hindering them from building more homes in 2024. Also 61 of respondents considered that the lack of financially viable land was a constraint, while 57 percent of English house builders also mentioned the lack of available and viable land as one of their main challenges.

Number of Businesses statistics on the Residential Building Construction industry in the UK

The number of housing units whose construction started in Wales in 2023 was over three times higher than in 2020. The source did not provide data for 2021. Overall, the number of housing starts has decreased a lot between 2000 and 2020. Wales was the country with the lowest number of housing completions per capita in Great Britain.

England was the country with the most of the new home construction starts in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2025, with ****** units. Housing starts in England declined very sharply in the second half of 2023, while those figures remained more stable in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Wales was the region with the least new housing constructions started in 2025.

Housing Starts in the United Kingdom increased to 29490 units in the second quarter of 2025 from 28780 units in the first quarter of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Housing and non-housing repair and maintenance were the segments with the largest construction output in the United Kingdom in 2024. Those two sectors together amounted to over 44 percent of the industry. Meanwhile, the output of new private housing construction amounted to 17.9 percent. The output volume of infrastructure in the past five years has been higher than in previous decades. A look at the construction output index for new private housing shows that output increased in 2021 and 2022, but it has fallen after that. Construction GVA increasingAn increased output also translated into a growing contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). In the fourth quarter of 2024, the construction industry had a gross value added of nearly 38 billion British pounds. That value reached a low point during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison, the overall GDP of the United Kingdom was valued at over 2.56 trillion British pounds. Private housing construction expected to declineThe output of the private housing sector was forecast to increase significantly in 2025. The few years after that, the output of private housing construction is expected to keep increasing but at a slower rate. The average price of houses in the UK increased noticeably in 2024, higher demand for and higher prices of housing generally incentivize the housing sector.

Dwellings completed by tenure, by house and flat, number of bedrooms etc. Tables provide the latest, most useful or most popular data, presented by type and other variables, including by geographical area or as a time series.

Several of the largest new residential construction projects in the United Kingdom with a construction start date in 2025 were found in London. The Planned Investment and Major Works Programme in London was valued at **** billion British pounds. The housing construction market in London London is one of the best-known cities in the world. It is an important financial and economic centre, accounting for the highest share of GDP out of all the regions in the UK. It is also home to the West-End and the British Museum, and it boasts a vibrant cultural life. The economic importance and popularity of the city are some of the factors fostering a high demand for housing construction in London. In addition to the ****** housing starts in London in 2023/24, there was also a similar volume of housing completions. In comparison, the number of private housing starts in the UK as was estimated to be ******* in 2024. House repairs in the UK Housing repair and maintenance was one of the segments with the highest market shares in the UK construction industry. Meanwhile, new private housing construction represented ** percent of the construction market in the country in 2024. The revenue of housing repair and maintenance in Great Britain has been increasing at a fast pace in the past years.

Total number of housing completions (seasonally adjusted)

How the figure is calculated:

Total housing completions are reported by local authority and private building control organisations after the end of each quarter. A completion is counted when a dwelling is ready for habitation. The figures are seasonally adjusted to allow comparisons with previous quarters.

Why is this indicator in the business plan?

Increasing the supply of housing is a key part of DCLG policy. The house building figures are the most frequent and timely indicator of housing delivery.

How often is it updated?

Quarterly

Where does the data come from?

P2 quarterly house building returns by local authority building control departments; monthly information from the National House Building Council (NHBC) on the volume of building control inspections; and a quarterly survey of private building control companies. Published figures are at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/house-building-statistics.

What area does the headline figure cover?

England

Are further breakdowns of the data available?

Yes, can be split by local authority area and by tenure

What does a change in this indicator show?

An increase in this indicator is good and shows more new houses are being completed.

Time Lag

Figures are published within two months of the end of the reporting period.

Next available update

May 2015.

Type of Data

National Statistics.

Robustness and data limitations

The P2 figures from local authorities and figures from private building control companies include imputation for a small number of missing returns.

Seasonal factors for the house building time series are re-calculated annually back to 2000. This is usually done in the second quarter of the calendar year. Therefore the seasonally adjusted house building figures throughout the whole period change slightly at that time but are not marked as 'revised'.

Links to Further Information

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/house-building-statistics

Contact Details

CorporatePerformance@communities.gsi.gov.uk