ONS publishes quarterly data on housing starts and completions carried out by private enterprises, housing associations and local authorities across the UK.
An estimated 40,770 housing starts were recorded in the UK in 1Q2026, according to the latest provisional data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This was the highest quarterly total since 2Q2023, when 80,260 starts were recorded – an exceptional quarter in which a surge in starts was linked to impending changes in building regulations.
UK housing starts increased by 14.0% compared with 1Q2025 and by 7.2% on the previous quarter. However, they remained below the level recorded in pre-pandemic 1Q2019, having fallen by 16.2%.
There were approximately 39,890 UK housing completions in the first quarter, an increase of 2.7% on the same period one year earlier. However, completions were 19.1% lower than in 4Q2025 and 16.7% below the level recorded in 1Q2019.
Starts in England mirrored the national trend, increasing on both the quarter and the year by 7.2% and 18.0% respectively.
England also continued to account for the vast majority of UK housebuilding activity. In 1Q2026, it accounted for 84.5% of all UK housing starts, with four in five of those delivered by private enterprises. In the first quarter, the number of private enterprise starts in England reached 27,640, the highest quarterly total since 2023.
Activity by other sectors remained subdued, with 240 local authority starts and 6,590 housing association starts recorded in England during the first quarter.
Across the rest of the UK, Scotland was the only nation to record a decline in housing starts compared with both the previous quarter and the same period one year earlier. In contrast, Wales recorded the strongest quarterly growth, with starts increasing by 40.3% on 4Q2025.
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ”Private developers and housing providers are clearly under significant pressure given ongoing viability concerns, but the latest data demonstrate the sector’s resilience. There were more UK housing starts in the first quarter of 2026 than in any quarter of 2025, although growth in completions remained relatively subdued.
“This is a pivotal period for the housing market. The new administration at No. 10 has started to set out an ambitious agenda to increase council housebuilding and support a recovery in housing delivery, which is welcome. There is also optimism surrounding the reappointment of Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and the appointment of Chancellor John Healey, who brings previous experience as a housing minister.
“However, the government must proceed carefully. The regulatory environment needs to strike the right balance, with any new or revised policies designed to make it easier for private developers, housing associations and local authorities to deliver new homes.
“The challenges facing the sector are clear. The priority must now be to promptly address these constraints while ensuring that the Prime Minister’s devolution plans, and the future direction of the Social and Affordable Housing Programme, support rather than hinder the delivery of much-needed homes.”
On the completions side, England accounted for 84.3% of all completions in the UK in 1Q2026 with 33,630.
Private enterprises were responsible for 70.4% of England completions with 23,690. Housing associations accounted for 8,690 completions, or just over one in four, while local authorities were responsible for 3.7%. The number of local authority completions was the highest since 1Q1992.
Private enterprises carried out the lion’s share of completions across the rest of the UK, ranging from 68.2% in Wales to 76.2% in Northern Ireland.
