New figures reveal that housebuilding in Scotland has plummeted to its lowest level in more than a decade, prompting a leading property firm to accuse the Scottish Government of failing to adequately address the country's housing emergency. The data indicates a significant slowdown in construction, particularly within the private sector, despite an official declaration of a housing crisis over two years ago.
Property firm DJ Alexander highlighted the latest Scottish Government housing statistics, which show a 4.4% reduction in new build starts during the 2025-26 financial year. A total of 14,955 new homes were initiated across all sectors, a decrease from 15,648 in the previous financial year (2024-25). This marks the lowest annual total recorded since 2012-13, raising concerns that the shortage of available homes is likely to intensify.
The decline was predominantly driven by the private sector, which saw new build starts fall by 11.9% to 11,018 – the lowest annual figure since 2013-14. While social housing starts did see an increase of 25.1% to 3,937, DJ Alexander noted that this figure still represents the third lowest annual total over the past eleven years, indicating a persistent shortfall in affordable housing provision.
David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander Scotland, expressed strong criticism, stating, “Over two years after the Scottish Government declared a housing emergency, we continue to see little being done to address this issue. Indeed, this further reduction in new build starts indicates the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.” He warned that the ongoing decrease in private sector activity signals a significant market slowdown.
The firm also drew attention to considerable regional disparities in construction activity. Edinburgh recorded 1,850 new build starts during the year, representing 12.4% of Scotland’s total. In stark contrast, Glasgow, a comparably sized urban centre, saw only 831 new starts. Mr Alexander cautioned that such concentrated development around Edinburgh risks fostering a ��two-tier housing market” across Scotland.
The chief executive concluded by emphasising that a sustained low level of housebuilding will continue to exert pressure on property prices, the private rented sector, and social housing availability unless there is a substantial increase in the volume of new homes. “Scotland needs more homes, and it needs them now,” he asserted, underscoring the urgency of the situation for the Scottish Government.