UK Housing Starts and Completions

UK Housing Starts and Completions: A 2024 Recap and Outlook for 2025

The UK housing sector faced significant challenges in 2024, with housing starts and completions experiencing notable declines compared to pre-pandemic levels.

According to the latest provisional data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), housing starts in 2024 were 30.8% lower than in 2019 and 25.7% lower than in 2023.

Q4 2024 Housing Starts Snapshot

In the fourth quarter of 2024:

• The UK recorded 31,770 housing starts, a 14.3% decrease from the previous quarter.

• This figure represents a 31.7% increase compared to Q4 2023.

• England made up 80.1% of all starts, with private enterprises responsible for 76.2% of them.

However, while private enterprise starts in England decreased from the previous quarter, they were up year-on-year compared to Q4 2023.

Regional Breakdown

• Wales: Starts decreased by 29.0% quarter-on-quarter and 59.6% year-on-year.

• Scotland: Starts increased by 8.0% from the previous quarter and 3.3% annually.

• Northern Ireland: A 1.3% quarterly increase but a 2.5% annual decrease.

Completions in Focus

Across the UK, 184,390 dwellings were completed in 2024 – 5.3% lower than in 2023 and 13.9% below 2019 levels.

In Q4 2024 alone:

• 49,120 completions were recorded – an 18.4% increase from Q3 but a 7.8% drop from Q4 2023.

In England:

• Private enterprises delivered 73.2% of the completions.

• Housing associations accounted for 25.1%, and local authorities for just 1.6%.

Looking Ahead

These figures highlight ongoing challenges in the UK housing market. With both starts and completions still trailing pre-COVID benchmarks, it’s clear that the sector must remain adaptable as it faces labour shortages, rising material costs, and evolving legislation.

At Strong Group, we continue to work closely with industry leaders to help navigate these changes and deliver results across housing and construction.

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