New housing supply has decreased by 2%, official statistics show.

Although the figures released by Scotland's Chief Statistician showed that starts on private newbuilds are up, overall the amount of new housing supply (new build, refurbishment and conversions) is down.

In 2010-11, 17,267 units were completed, while in 2011-12, just 16,882 were done.

The chief executive of the Scottish Building Federation said the figures were "genuinely frightening" for the industry.

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Michael Levack said: "Overall, the construction of new homes in Scotland is at its lowest ebb since current records began some 16 years ago.

"As a critical sector of the Scottish construction industry and with the demand for new homes continuing to rise, it's genuinely frightening to see housebuilding numbers continuing to slide as they currently are. The housing sector urgently needs an injection of additional direct capital investment to help nurse it back to life. If we can't start increasing the number of new homes we build, we should at the very least be creating far greater incentives for owners to repair and maintain their existing properties so as to improve our building stock and help construction firms retain jobs and capacity during these difficult times."

(NE)