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 at highest level for two years

New housing starts in the UK were up by 8.0% in 2Q2025 compared with the previous quarter, and by 14.0% on the same period last year, according to the latest provisional data from ONS⁽²⁾. Compared with pre-pandemic 2Q2019, though, the 38,490 starts were down by more than one-fifth (22.5%).

On the completions side, 43,700 new dwellings were completed in the UK in 2Q2025 – 12.8% more than in the previous quarter, and 16.8% fewer than in 2Q2024. Compared with 2Q2019, completions were down by 20.9%.

^{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: ‘The uplift in starts is encouraging, but it needs to be viewed in context. We’re still well below pre-pandemic levels, and completions remain significantly down on the year, which tells us that underlying delivery challenges haven’t gone away.

‘The sector needs sustained demand and fewer viability constraints if these early signs of momentum are going to translate into more homes on the ground.’

England accounted for 81.7% of all starts in the quarter, of which more than three-quarters (75.8%) were by private enterprises. The number of private enterprise starts in England in 2Q2025 (23,820) was up by 6.3% on the previous quarter and by 27.4% on the year.

There were just 290 starts by local authorities and 7,320 by housing associations.

Across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there were increased starts on a quarterly and annual basis across the board.

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 2Q2025 were down on the year – a 16.8% decrease on 2Q2024, although up on the quarter (12.8%). This trend was the case in each country of the UK.

Across the UK, private enterprises accounted for 75.6% of all completions, with 33,040.

All dwellings completions

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

In England, of the 36,160 dwellings completed in 2Q2025, 74.8% were by private enterprises (27,050). Housing associations were responsible for 8,860, or just under one in four completions, while local authorities accounted for less than 1% of completions.

Across the rest of the UK, private enterprises also carried out the lion’s share of completions, ranging from 76.7% in Scotland to 85.8% in Northern Ireland.

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

To keep up to date with the latest industry news and insights from BCIS, register for our newsletter here.

^{(1) GOV.UK – Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England: 2024 to 2025 – here}

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