Raising standards to protect homeowners
Regional improvement indicates hope for Scottish Housing Market
There is a glimmer of hope for Scottish homebuilding after new home registrations for the last quarter showed signs of improvement, according to NHBC.
The latest figures demonstrate that despite regional fluctuations that typically depress the market, new home statistics improved across parts of Scotland and in some cases dramatically so.
Councils showing improved figures include Angus, for which NHBC received 53 applications in the three months May to July 2009, a 130 per cent increase on the same period last year (23), and the City of Aberdeen, which saw a rise of 173 per cent on last year (11), with 30 applications.
And, figures show that during the three months to the end of July 2009, NHBC received 1,677 applications to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors in Scotland. While this figure is slightly lower than the last rolling quarter (1,735), it marks a proportional improvement at only 34 per cent lower than the same period in 2008.
Malcolm MacLeod, NHBC Director for Scotland, said: "While house building figures in some Scottish councils remain low, the fact that other councils are reporting an increase in number of applications compared with this time last year is very positive, and supports the suggestion that things are beginning to improve industry-wide."
NHBC statistics for Scotland for the three months to the end of July 2009 also revealed:
- Of the 1,677 applications to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors during the three months to the end of July, 1,342 were related to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations) - 34 per cent lower than the same three-month period a year ago (2,030).
- Public sector figures for the three months to the end of July totalled 335 - 35 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (514).
- New build completions in the combined private and public sectors in Scotland totalled 2,668 in the three months to the end of July 2009 - 43 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (4,698).
NHBC publishes a quarterly booklet of its new house-building statistics - to subscribe visit www.nhbc.co.uk
Ends
Note to editors:
(i) Full breakdown of new homes registered in Scotland by Council from May to July 2009:
Council |
May to July 2009 |
May to July 2008 |
Percentage Increase / (-) Decrease |
Aberdeenshire |
174 |
308 |
-44% |
Angus |
53 |
23 |
130% |
Argyll & Bute |
62 |
29 |
114% |
City of Aberdeen |
30 |
11 |
173% |
City of Edinburgh |
55 |
70 |
-21% |
City of Glasgow |
118 |
143 |
-17% |
Clackmannan |
22 |
0 |
N/A |
Dumfries & Galloway |
22 |
13 |
69% |
Dundee City |
9 |
108 |
-92% |
East Ayrshire |
8 |
61 |
-87% |
East Dumbartonshire |
2 |
19 |
-89% |
East Lothian |
62 |
45 |
38% |
East Renfrewshire |
11 |
44 |
-75% |
Falkirk |
73 |
69 |
6% |
Fife |
156 |
318 |
-51% |
Highland |
132 |
177 |
-25% |
Inverclyde |
23 |
124 |
-81% |
Midlothian |
29 |
84 |
-65% |
Moray |
42 |
37 |
14% |
North Ayrshire |
23 |
12 |
92% |
North Lanarkshire |
133 |
154 |
-14% |
Orkney Islands |
15 |
21 |
-29% |
Perthshire & Kinross |
56 |
66 |
-15% |
Renfrewshire |
61 |
83 |
-27% |
Scottish Borders |
48 |
28 |
71% |
Shetland Islands |
3 |
12 |
-75% |
South Ayrshire |
11 |
14 |
-21% |
South Lanarkshire |
113 |
273 |
-59% |
Stirling |
13 |
0 |
N/A |
West Dumbartonshire |
47 |
70 |
-33% |
Western Isles |
1 |
7 |
-86% |
West Lothian |
70 |
121 |
-42% |
Totals for Scotland |
1,677 |
2,544 |
-34% |
NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK. It was established more than 73 years ago as a non-profit distributing company. NHBC's primary purpose is to help raise standards to protect homeowners. NHBC's ten-year 'Buildmark' warranty covers more than 80% of new homes built in the UK and currently protects approximately 1.6 million homes.
News Date: 28/08/09