Latest UK housing starts and completions figures

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, while it provides a timely indicator of new supply, fuller measures of housing provision come from the separate annual net additions series⁽¹⁾, which also includes conversions, demolitions and changes of use.

UK housing starts up in first quarter of year but completions fall

New housing starts in the UK were up by 11.3% in 1Q2025 compared with the previous quarter, and by 17.4% on the same period last year, according to the latest provisional data from ONS⁽²⁾. Compared with pre-pandemic 1Q2019, though, the 35,640 starts were down by more than one-quarter (26.7%).

On the completions side, 38,780 new dwellings were completed in the UK in 1Q2025 – 21.1% less than in 4Q2024 and 5.9% less than in 1Q2024. Compared with 1Q2019, completions were down by 19%.

^{Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e}

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘More disappointing data for the government in terms of their self-imposed new housing target. While housing starts are relatively positive, both on an annual and quarterly basis, when compared to pre-pandemic levels they are significantly lower.

‘The data for completions is even more concerning and highlights the real struggle the government is going to have regarding the delivery of 1.5 million new homes over the life of the current parliament.’

England accounted for 83.1% of all starts in the quarter, of which more than three-quarters (77.4%) were by private enterprises. The number of private enterprise starts in England in 1Q2025 (22,930) was down by 28.1% on the same quarter in 2019, but increased on the quarter and year.

There were just 200 starts by local authorities and 6,480 by housing associations, a 7.1% increase on 1Q2024.

In Wales, the number of starts in 1Q2025 increased by 26.3% on the quarter and 54.8% on the year. Scotland was the only nation to see decreased starts in the first quarter of the year, with 3,340 an 18.1% decrease on the previous quarter. Starts in Northern were up by 9.5% on the year.

All dwellings starts

^{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}

In contrast to starts, UK housing completions in 1Q2025 were down on the quarter and the year, and the lowest number recorded in the dataset since 1Q2016. All parts of the UK had fewer completions recorded on the quarter and only Northern Ireland had increased completions compared with 1Q2024.

Across the UK, private enterprises accounted for 73.5% of all completions, with 28,500 completions the lowest total recorded in the dataset since 3Q2014.

All dwellings completions

^{Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1b}

In England, of the 32,560 dwellings completed in 1Q2025, 72.8% were by private enterprises (23,700). Housing associations were responsible for 8,290, or just over one in four completions, while local authorities accounted for 1.8%.

Across the rest of the UK, private enterprises also carried out the lion’s share of completions, ranging from 60.7% in Wales to 91.9% in Northern Ireland.

^{Source: ONS – House building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country, Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e}

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^{(1) GOV.UK – Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England: 2023 to 2024 – here}

^{(2) Office for National Statistics – Indicators of house building, UK: permanent dwellings started and completed by country – here}