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Published: 18/02/2025
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.
Housing starts up 10.9% overall in UK compared with previous quarter
Housing starts in the UK increased in the third quarter of 2024, with 37,030 starts recorded in the latest provisional data from ONS. This was up by 10.9% on the number of dwellings started in the previous quarter. This figure is 28.8% up on the same quarter in 2023.
England accounted for 82.9% of all starts in the UK (30,710), 73.1% of which were by private enterprises. The number of private enterprise starts (22,460) was up by 17.0% on the previous quarter.
In Wales, the number of starts in 3Q2024 increased 5.9% on 2Q2024, and fell by 24.6% compared with 3Q2023. Scotland saw an 11.0% increase on a quarterly basis and an 11.0% drop on the year, while Northern Ireland showed a quarterly decrease of 15.6% and an annual increase of 19.7%.
All dwellings starts
| 3Q2024 | Change from 2Q2024 | Change from 3Q2023 | |
| UK | 37,030 | 10.9% | 28.8% |
| England | 30,710 | 12.8% | 40.4% |
| Wales | 1,070 | 5.9% | -24.6% |
| Scotland | 3,730 | 11.0% | -11.0% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,520 | -15.6% | 19.7% |
Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
On the completions side, a total number of 41,220 dwellings were completed in 3Q2024, which was 21.4% fewer than in the previous quarter, and 12.9% less than completions in 3Q2023.
All parts of the UK except for Northern Ireland saw quarterly and annual decreases in completions in 3Q2024.
All dwellings completions
| 3Q2024 | Change from 2Q2024 | Change from 3Q2023 | |
| UK | 41,220 | -21.4% | -12.9% |
| England | 33,750 | -24.2% | -15.5% |
| Wales | 940 | -30.4% | -6.9% |
| Scotland | 4,910 | -2.8% | -3.9% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,630 | 7.2% | 29.4% |
Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1b
In England, of the 33,750 dwellings completed in 3Q2024, 76.6% were by private enterprises (25,840). Housing associations were responsible for 7,500, or just over one in five completions, while local authorities accounted for 1.2%.
Compared to pre-Covid building activity in England, completions were down 21.1% on 3Q2019.
Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
Chief Economist at BCIS, Dr David Crosthwaite said: ’While the housing starts data are broadly positive on both a quarterly and annual basis, there is a significant decline evident in completions.
‘Housing completions are struggling, with both quarterly and annual declines evident. These numbers highlight the difficulty the government is going to have in attempting to reach their target of 1.5m new homes completed over the course of the current Parliament.’
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