There was a 10 per cent increase in the number of new home completions in Scotland over the year to September 2022, according to quarterly statistics published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

The increase, 2,023 more homes, brought total to 20,882, the highest annual figure since 2008. Increases were seen across private-led new build completions (up 7 per cent), local authority new build completions (up 42 per cent), and housing associations (up 5 per cent).

Meanwhile the number of new build homes started across all sectors decreased by 12 per cent, or 2,580 homes, with 19,227 starts in the year to end September.

The figure was well down on the 25,283 homes started in the pre-pandemic year to end September 2019. Private-led new build starts decreased by 11 per cent and housing association new build approvals dropped by 27 per cent. Local authority new build starts increased by 1 per cent.

Separate figures published as part of the UK House Price Index showed a total of 12,395 private new build sale transactions in Scotland in the year to end October 2022, up 11 per cent on the year to end October 2021.