CIH Scotland has responded to the latest quarterly house building and affordable supply statistics released by the Scottish Government, which reveal a downward trend in both new starts and completions for the year ending December 2025.

The data indicates that 17,336 new homes were completed across all sectors during the 12-month period, representing a 13 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. Construction starts also saw a decline, falling by six per cent to a total of 14,999 new builds.

While annual figures for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme also showed a decrease, the final six months of 2025 provided some contrasting data. During this latter half of the year, approvals rose by 58 per cent (1,153 homes) and starts increased by 21 per cent (543 homes) when compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

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Gillian McLees, National Director of CIH Scotland, commented on the findings: "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."

Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Ms McLees added: "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 the Scottish parliamentary election approaches, CIH Scotland is urging the next administration to place the delivery of social housing at the forefront of its agenda and commit to the affordable housing targets identified in the organisation's recent research.