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Published: 07/05/2026
ONS publishes quarterly data on housing starts and completions carried out by private enterprises, housing associations and local authorities across the UK.
Data is collected from a range of sources, including local authority new build form returns, National House Building Council (NHBC) data, approved inspector data returns, Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme and District Council Building Control in Northern Ireland.
As the usage notes for the dataset outline, it provides a timely indicator of new supply, but fuller measures of housing provision come from the separate annual net additions series(1), which also includes conversions, demolitions and changes of use.
Annual housing starts show partial recovery in 2025 after 2024 dip, but completions drop again
An estimated 150,600 housing starts were recorded in the UK in 2025, according to the latest provisional data from ONS(2). This represented a 12.4% increase on 2024, but a 21.4% decrease compared with pre-pandemic 2019. Completions in the same period were down on the previous year, by 7.6%, and by 20.5% on 2019, with an estimated 170,390.
The vast majority of houses built in the UK are in England, where 83% of starts and completions were recorded in 2025. Mirroring the UK-wide picture, the rate of starts was higher, and the rate of completions lower, in England than in 2024. Further, completions in England in 2025 were at their lowest level since 2016.
On a quarterly basis, housing starts in the UK edged up at the end of 2025, while completions climbed to the highest level since 2Q2024.
There were 38,010 new housing starts recorded in the UK in 4Q2025, a 0.5% increase on 3Q2025, and a 19.1% increase compared with 4Q2024. Compared with pre-pandemic 4Q2019, starts were down by 3.7%.
On the completions side, 49,250 new dwellings were completed in the UK in 4Q2025 – the highest quarterly total recorded since 2Q2024.
This meant completions in the final quarter of 2025 were up by almost one-third (31.6%) on the previous quarter and were slightly higher (0.3%) than 4Q2024. Compared with 4Q2019, completions were down by 17.6%.
Source: ONS – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘Looking at long-term trends, both starts and completions remain below pre-pandemic levels, despite more encouraging movements in the latest quarterly data. The uplift in completions at the end of 2025, alongside a recovery in starts over the year, suggests parts of the delivery pipeline are beginning to stabilise.
‘However, the underlying challenges facing housebuilders have not gone away. Viability constraints, delays in regulatory processes and ongoing affordability pressures continue to weigh on delivery. At the same time, rising cost pressures linked to global instability are already reportedly feeding into the market, adding strain to schemes that are often finely balanced. This is likely to limit how far the recent improvement in activity can be sustained without stronger underlying market conditions.’
England accounted for 84.5% of all UK starts in the final quarter of 2025, of which 79.1% were by private enterprises. The number of private enterprise starts in England in 4Q2025 (25,380) was the highest recorded since 2023.
There were just 300 starts by local authorities and 6,430 by housing associations.
Across the rest of the UK, only Scotland saw increased starts on a quarterly and annual basis.
Conversely, housing starts in Northern Ireland were down on both counts, while starts in Wales decreased on the quarter but rose on the year.
| All housing starts | |||
| 4Q2025 | Change from 3Q2025 | Change from 4Q2024 | |
| UK | 38,010 | 0.5% | 19.1% |
| England | 32,100 | 1.1% | 25.5% |
| Wales | 770 | -41.2% | 1.3% |
| Scotland | 4,070 | 26.8% | 0.5% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,080 | -31.6% | -29.9% |
Source: ONS – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Tables 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
Source : ONS – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Tables 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
England also accounted for 84.4% of all completions in the UK in 4Q2025 with 41,570.
Private enterprises were responsible for 71.4% of England completions with 29,700. Housing associations accounted for 11.,160 completions, or just over one in four, while local authorities were responsible for 1.7%. The number of housing association completions was the highest on record.
| All housing completions | |||
| 4Q2025 | Change from 3Q2025 | Change from 4Q2024 | |
| UK | 49,250 | 31.6% | 0.3% |
| England | 41,570 | 34.4% | 1.8% |
| Wales | 1,810 | 72.4% | 41.4% |
| Scotland | 4,230 | 3.9% | -20.8% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,640 | 18.8% | 0.6% |
Source : ONS – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Tables 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
Private enterprises carried out the lion’s share of completions across the rest of the UK, ranging from 71.4% in England to 92.1% in Northern Ireland.
Source: ONS – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Tables 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
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