The reported 5% increase in new-build completions in Scotland compared with the previous year heralds a “step in the right direction” towards addressing the country’s housing crisis, according to Scotland’s homebuilders.
With 17,601 homes completed across all sectors in the 12 months to end September 2017, Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, which represents organisations building the majority of the country’s homes, said: “These latest year-on-year figures are encouraging for our sector given the increases noted in both starts (9%) and completions (5%). Having identified a need for 10% year-on-year growth in order to see a return to pre-recession build levels of at least 25,000 homes per year, today’s statistics are certainly a welcome step in the right direction towards a sustainable recovery.
“The fact remains that Scotland’s chronic undersupply of housing impacts the needs and aspirations of our growing population as well as wider investment and economic growth. It is therefore crucial that local authorities, developers and others involved in the process continue to work together to build on this momentum if we are to make up for the ground lost since the downturn.”
Homes for Scotland represents companies which together provide 95% of all new homes built for sale as well as a significant proportion of affordable housing. The organisation has also produced manifesto setting out the action it believes is required to return to pre-recession building levels of around 25,000 per annum by the end of this Scottish Parliament.
