Housing Supply
- Housing stock by tenure, 2007
- Percentage increase in types of housing, 1991-2007
- Owner-occupied dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
- Privately rented dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
- Housing Association dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
- Local authority dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
- New build housing, 1997-2007
- Housing completions, 1991-2007
- Public sector housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
- Housing association housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
- Total private sector housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
- New house starts begun in 2008
- Housing completions in 2008
Housing stock by tenure, 2007
The UK is a country of home-owners, with just under 70% of homes in private ownership in 2007.
Social housing (comprising 8.4% housing association and 9.7% local authority stock) and the private rented sector (12.4%) make up a small percentage of the remaining housing stock in the UK.
Scotland has the lowest level of owner-occupation (65.4%) and the largest proportion of social housing (25.1%).
Privately rented housing stock is most prevalent in England – forming 12.9% of all homes.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 107
Percentage increase in types of housing, 1991-2007
This graph shows the percentage increase in different types of housing between 1992 and 2007, including both new builds and stock that has been converted to a different form of tenure.
Housing stock in the UK increased from 23.5 million to 26.6 million homes (a 13.2% increase), with similar increases in England, Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland’s stock increased by the much higher rate of 32.7%.
Local authority housing stock declined in all countries, while housing associations' stock increased sharply, partially reflecting housing policies that support the transfer of council stock into housing association ownership.
Northern Ireland saw a significant increase in privately rented housing compared to all other countries, probably reflecting new-build patterns to meet population growth and housing demand.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 119
Owner-occupied dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
This graph outlines the changing number of owner-occupied dwellings across different parts of the UK between 1991 and 2007 (2006 in Scotland). Home ownership has been a dominant tenure in the UK and is widely seen as a key driver of housing demand.
A substantial increase in the number of owner-occupied dwellings has been seen in England, with a rise from 13,397,000 in 1991 to 15,449,000 in 2007, an increase of 15.3%. Scotland and Northern Ireland also saw a dramatic rise in the supply of owner-occupied dwellings.
Scotland saw an increase from 1,132,000 owner-occupied dwellings in 1991 to 1,586,650 in 2006, representing an increase of 40.1%. Northern Ireland saw the biggest increase over the period, with a massive 61.8% increase in owner-occupied dwellings, rising from 323,000 in 1991 to 522,571 in 2007.
While Wales saw an overall increase in owner-occupied dwellings between 1991 and 2007, there have been fluctuations since 1997. The supply of owner-occupied dwellings dropped marginally from 891,000 in 1997 to 888,000 in 1998, rising again to 915,000 in 1999, then falling slightly to 903,000 in 2000 before steadily climbing to reach 968,000 in 2007. Overall there has been a 15.6% increase in owner occupied dwellings from 1991-2007 in Wales.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 106-109
Privately rented dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
This chart shows the number of privately rented dwellings by country between 1991 and 2007 (or 2006 for Scotland). The importance of privately rented accommodation as a tenure choice has increased over recent years and is now seen as an important driver of the housing market, particularly with the development of buy-to-let.
There was an increase of 1,099,000 (or 62%) in private rented dwellings in England between 1991 and 2007, while Wales saw an increase of 38,000 (39%) during the same period. Scotland also saw an increase of 78,547 (51%) privately rented dwellings between 1991 and 2006.
Between 1991 and 2007, Northern Ireland saw the most dramatic proportional change, with an extra 46,741 privately rented dwellings, representing an increase of 112% over this period.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 106-109
Housing Association dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
This chart shows the number of housing association dwellings by country between 1991 and 2007 (or 2006 for Scotland). Housing association dwellings represent a major source of affordable housing in the UK.
All countries have seen a significant increase in the number and overall proportion of housing association dwellings between 1991 and 2007. The overall increase in stock in England was 210%, compared with 139% in Wales and 298% in Northern Ireland.
Scotland had the largest proportional increase in housing association stock, with a 359% increase in dwellings between 1991 and 2006. There was a major shift in Scotland between 2001 and 2002, during which there was an increase in housing association dwellings from 143,188 to 238,472 (66.5%). While some of the increase is new-build housing, a large percentage of the increase can be attributed to local authority stock transfers to housing associations.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 106-109
Local authority dwellings in the UK, 1991-2007
This chart shows the number of local authority dwellings by country between 1991 and 2007 (or 2006 for Scotland). Local authority housing stock has been in steady decline during the period examined, in part as a result of local authority stock transfers to housing associations and increased use of the ‘right to buy’ scheme that provides council tenants with the option to purchase the home that they live in.
England has seen a decrease in the number of local authority dwellings from 3,899,000 in 1991 to 1,987,000 in 2007, a drop of 49%. Over the same period, there was a decrease from 222,000 to 154,000 in Wales (a drop of 30.6%) and a decrease from 184,000 to 97,480 in Northern Ireland (a decrease of 47%).
Between 1991 and 2006 Scotland saw a decrease from 816,000 local government dwellings to 346,837, representing the largest drop of 57.5%.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 106-109
New build housing, 1991-2008
This graph shows the total number of new dwellings started between 1991 and 2008, which is useful for understanding the dynamics of supply and demand in the UK. It should be reviewed alongside housing completion rates.
The average number of new-build starts across the UK during the period 1991 to 2008 was 194,796 per annum, well below the 240,000 per annum target set for England alone.
England has been the most volatile (prone to rapid change) in terms of housing starts compared with Scotland, which has been relatively stable.
Between 2007 and 2008, a downturn was clearly evident in new starts compared to recent years across the UK, with new-build housing starts dropping by 37% in England, 45% in Wales, and 43% in Northern Ireland. Scotland saw the lowest decrease, dropping only 18.5%.
New-build starts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2008 represent the lowest levels recorded during the 1991-2008 period.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-116
Housing completions, 1991-2008
This graph shows the total number of housing completions between 1991 and 2008. This is a useful way of understanding the dynamics of supply and demand in each country of the UK.
The average annual number of completions across the UK during the period 1991 to 2008 was 191,634.
In 2008 the number of house completions dropped significantly, reflecting the impact of the economic downturn on new-build housing.
Housing completions dropped 18.6% from 2007 to 2008 in the UK, with the most significant drops occurring in Wales (down 21.6%) and Northern Ireland (down 21.2%), followed by England (down 18.7%) and Scotland (down 13.0%).
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-116
Public sector housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
This graph shows the total number of public sector housing completions (local authorities, new towns and government departments) between 1990 and 2008 within the UK. Data is not available for Scotland for 2004-05 or for Northern Ireland for 2003-08.
In all countries where data is available, there has been a decline in the building of public sector housing between the early 1990s and 2008.
England has seen the most dramatic decline, from a peak of 14,015 completions in 1990 to a low of 54 in 1999. There has been a gradual increase again recently, with 440 public sector housing completions in 2008. Between 1990 and 2008 England averaged 1,686 housing completions per year.
Wales has also seen a dramatic reduction in public sector housing completions with no completions at all in 1999, 2006 and 2007. Between 1990 and 2008 Wales averaged 107 housing completions per year.
The decrease in Scotland and Northern Ireland was more sustained during the late 1990s than in the other countries, but ultimately resulted in only 2 public sector housing completions in 2004 for Scotland and 19 in Northern Ireland in 2002. Between 1990 and 2008 Scotland averaged 436 housing completions per year and Northern Ireland 491 completions per year.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-115
Housing association housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
This graph shows the total housing association house completions in the UK between 1990 and 2008. These have been highly variable over time. The Government policy push towards new house building since 2001 has seen an increased role for housing associations in the provision of affordable housing.
In England, housing association house completions reached a peak of 30,888 in 1995 before dropping to a low of 12,822 in 2003. Since 2003, England has seen a gradual increase once again, with 25,650 completions in 2008.
Housing association completions in Wales peaked in 1994 with 2,975 units completed, before slowly dropping to a low level of 312 in 2005.
Housing completions in the housing association sector have been most erratic in Scotland over the period, particularly in the late 1990s, when 4,854 completions were recorded in 1995, followed by a drop to 2,566 in 1996, before stabilising at an average of 3,886 between 2000 and 2008.
Northern Ireland saw its highest number of housing association completions in 2001, with 1,505 achieved that year, in contrast to its lowest recorded number of 413 completions in 2004. Overall, there was an average of 853 completions between 1990 and 2008 in this country.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-115
Total private sector housing completions in the UK, 1990-2008
This graphs shows the total number of private sector housing completions between 1990 and 2008, which acts as an indictor of the health of the house-building industry as a whole. While varied completion rates were recorded across most countries in the 1990s, the early 2000s saw a steady increase in private sector completions before a sharp drop in the late 2000s.
The recession of the early 1990s saw private sector housing completions decrease, hitting a low level of 14,421 in Scotland in 1992, 116,634 completions in England in 1993, 6,621 in Wales in 1993, and 5,522 in Northern Ireland in 1994.
From 2002, private sector housing completions began to pick up again in all countries, with completions increasing to 152,100 in 2007 in England, 9,100 in Wales and 21,640 in Scotland. The figure was 16,924 for Northern Ireland in 2006.
However, during the recent economic downturn, there has once again been a decrease in private sector housing completions. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of completions decreased to 115,830 units in England (a 23.8% decrease) and to 6,950 in Wales (a 23.6% decrease), 18,057 in Scotland (a 16.5% decrease) and 9,670 in Northern Ireland (a 23.6% decrease).
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-115
New house starts begun in 2008
This graph shows the percentage of new housing by tenure for which construction began in 2008 in each country and the UK as a whole..
Most new-build starts in the UK are for market housing (homes for private sale) and are undertaken by the private sector (approximately 80%) with only around 20% undertaken by housing associations.
Scotland has different new-build start patterns to the rest of the UK, with less private sector housing (73%) and a larger proportion provided by the social sector (26.29%).
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-116
Housing completions in 2008
This graph shows the percentage of completions by tenure in 2008 for each country and the UK as a whole.
Very few local authorities delivered many housing completions, due to changes in policy. However, housing associations continued to play a strong role in England and Scotland.
Wales and Northern Ireland were more dependent on the private sector to deliver housing completions.
Source: UK Housing Review, 2009: 111-116