Raising standards to protect homeowners
Figures reveal rise in house building in Scotland
Figures released today from NHBC reveal a steady rise in new homes being built across Scotland.
During the three months August to October 2009, NHBC received 1,768 applications to build new homes - a 19 per cent rise on applications received during the same three-month period last year (1,482).
This figure is also higher than the number of applications received in the last rolling quarter, July to September 2009 (1,668), with improvement evident across 19 Scottish councils in October. Increases ranged from 2 per cent in East Lothian, to 675 per cent in West Lothian.
Malcolm MacLeod, NHBC Director for Scotland, said: "Despite regional fluctuations, the overall picture across Scotland is one of steady improvement.
"Whilst the Scottish housing market still has a long way to go, it is encouraging to witness this stabilisation in applications and certainly gives hope that the situation is improving, even if it is still difficult to judge exactly when the market will be fully recovered."
NHBC statistics for Scotland for the three months to the end of October 2009 also revealed:
- Of the 1,768 applications to start new homes in the combined private and public sectors during the three months to the end of October 2009, 1,432 were related to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations) - 13 per cent higher than the same three-month period a year ago (1,264).
- Public sector figures for the three months to the end of October 2009 totalled 336 - 54 per cent higher than the same period a year ago (218).
- New build completions in the combined private and public sectors in Scotland totalled 2,359 in the three months to the end of October 2009 - 30 per cent lower than the same period a year ago (3,353).
NHBC publishes a quarterly booklet of its new house-building statistics - subscribe here.
Ends
Note to editors:
(i) Full breakdown of new homes registered in Scotland by Council from August to October 2009:
Council |
August - October 2009 |
August - October 2008 |
Percentage Increase / (-) Decrease |
Aberdeenshire |
269 |
197 |
37% |
Angus |
81 |
28 |
189% |
Argyll & Bute |
83 |
23 |
261% |
City of Aberdeen |
54 |
88 |
-39% |
City of Edinburgh |
115 |
127 |
-9% |
City of Glasgow |
100 |
84 |
19% |
Clackmannan |
17 |
0 |
N/A |
Dumfries & Galloway |
52 |
24 |
117% |
Dundee City |
10 |
77 |
-87% |
East Ayrshire |
34 |
13 |
162% |
East Dumbartonshire |
29 |
4 |
625% |
East Lothian |
52 |
51 |
2% |
East Renfrewshire |
19 |
60 |
-68% |
Falkirk |
59 |
55 |
7% |
Fife |
92 |
119 |
-23% |
Highland |
74 |
61 |
21% |
Inverclyde |
5 |
15 |
-67% |
Midlothian |
81 |
42 |
93% |
Moray |
11 |
33 |
-67% |
North Ayrshire |
39 |
3 |
1200% |
North Lanarkshire |
102 |
61 |
67% |
Orkney Islands |
2 |
9 |
-78% |
Perthshire & Kinross |
46 |
43 |
7% |
Renfrewshire |
46 |
7 |
557% |
Scottish Borders |
8 |
85 |
-91% |
Shetland Islands |
0 |
2 |
-100% |
South Ayrshire |
2 |
6 |
-67% |
South Lanarkshire |
113 |
93 |
22% |
Stirling |
70 |
39 |
79% |
West Dumbartonshire |
9 |
13 |
-31% |
Western Isles |
1 |
8 |
-88% |
West Lothian |
93 |
12 |
675% |
Totals for Scotland |
1,768 |
1,482 |
19% |
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: 24/11/09