The figures reveal significant year-on-year falls, with all-sector completions down 13% and starts down 6% compared with 2024.

The private sector accounted for the majority of activity, completing 13,725 homes and starting work on 11,929. The social sector completed 3,611 homes and started 3,070.

Excluding 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted building activity, private sector completions were the lowest since 2017 and starts the lowest since 2013. For social housing, the picture was bleaker still, with completions the lowest since 2014, whilst starts were the lowest since records in this data series began in 1997.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme also recorded sharp annual declines, with completions falling 25%, starts down 15%, and approvals down 9%. In total, 6,289 affordable homes were completed in 2025, alongside 5,856 starts and 5,833 approvals. There were signs of recovery in the second half of the year as approvals rose 58% and starts rose 21% in the final six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

Since the programme’s 110,000 affordable homes target was set, with a deadline of 2032, 32,479 homes have been delivered as of December 2025. Of these, 77% are social rent (25,016 homes), 15% affordable rent (4,750 homes), and 8% affordable home ownership (2,713 homes), leaving just under 78,000 homes still required in the remaining seven years.

Commenting on the statistics, CIH Scotland’s national director Gillian McLees said: “As expected, the latest figures released today by the Scottish government show a continued decline in the delivery of new homes across Scotland in the last 12 months.

“This is a worrying trend and shows that more action is needed to address the housing emergency and provide the homes that Scotland so desperately needs.

“While there is some good news with increases to approvals and starts though the Affordable Housing Supply Programme over the last 6 months, our latest affordable housing research, published last year in partnership with SFHA and Shelter Scotland, shows that Scotland needs to deliver 15,693 social and affordable homes every year over the next five years to meet current housing need.

“As we count down to the Scottish parliamentary election, we are calling on the next Scottish government to prioritise the delivery of social housing and commit to the affordable housing target evidenced in our research.”