New house building: July to September 2018

The information is based on the reports of local authority building inspectors and the National House Building Council (NHBC), a private approved inspector. It does not include information from other private approved inspectors.

Main points

• On a quarterly basis 1,431 new dwellings were started across Wales during July to September 2018. This was over a fifth (21%) less than during the previous quarter and 5% less than a year earlier.
• During the 12 months to the end of September 2018, a total of 5,922 new dwelling were started. This is down 15% on the 12 months to the end of September 2017.
• On a quarterly basis 1,299 new dwellings were completed across Wales during July to September 2018. This is 17% less than the previous quarter and 8% less than a year earlier.
• During the 12 months to the end of September 2018, a total of 6,043 new dwelling were completed. This is down by 15% on the 12 months to September 2017.
• The private sector continued to account for the majority of new house building activity (78% of completions in this quarter). RSLs accounted for a further 20% of completions and local authorities for 1%.
• There were 18 new dwellings completed by local authorities during the quarter and all of these were completed by Swansea Council.
• 3 bedroom properties accounted for 41% of all new dwellings completed compared with 36% the previous year. The number of 2 bedroom properties completed was down by over a quarter (26%) on the previous year. They accounted for 22% of all completions during July to September 2018 compared with 27% a year earlier.

Note

The decreases in both starts and completions will be influenced by quarterly fluctuations including the timing of starts and completions on large sites in some authorities and seasonal factors such as holidays and weather. These statistics are not seasonally adjusted.