The number of new homes constructed in Scotland has increased by 7% in the last year, official figures have revealed.

This is the first annual increase since before the recession, the Scottish Government has said.

In the year to March 2014, 15,957 new homes were built in the country, compared to 14,895 the previous year. The latest figures include new build housing, rehabilitations, and conversions. Private sector house building and housing association rehabilitations accounted for the largest share of the growth, with private sector-led new build completions rising 9% from the previous year, to 10,686.

Elsewhere, in the year to June 2014, a total of 6,850 affordable homes were completed through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme – an increase of 9% from the previous year. Approvals also increased 25% to 7,067, while starts rose by 55% to 6,530. Local authority housing figures show that in the year to March 2014, 1,140 new council houses were built in Scotland, the most in 25 years.

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Welcoming the statistics, Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said: "It is encouraging to see that the number of new homes in Scotland has risen in the last year, driven in large part by an increase in the number of private sector completions.

"This is the first annual increase since before the recession, reflecting the growing confidence within the housing market, which the Scottish Government has helped to stimulate through investment in initiatives designed to support the sector, and help people into home ownership."

She added: "Nonetheless, new housing supply remains well below pre-recession levels and I recognise that the house building industry continues to face a number of challenges. We are committed to working with organisations across the housing sector to address these, and work towards the shared goal of securing a sustained increase in housing supply."

The Scottish Government has invested more than £135m through its Council House Building Programme, which has provided more than 4,000 new homes across Scotland since 2009.

(JP/MH)