"The current regulatory bottlenecks, while vital for public safety, are creating a lag between completion and availability that’s masking the true volume of housing being delivered"
- Sian Metcalfe - Property Inspect
New data from Property Inspect shows that new-build homes now make up just 5.9% of all residential property listings in Great Britain, with both quarterly and annual declines pointing to a slowdown in the delivery of new homes, despite government pledges to tackle the housing crisis.
Property Inspect examined property listings across the country and its major cities, comparing the proportion of new-builds against total available housing stock. The research reveals that new-build supply in Britain has dropped by 0.1% since Q2 2025 and 0.4% since Q3 2024, leaving new-builds at 5.9% of total national housing supply.
Aberdeen has the highest share of new-build listings, where 12.9% of current properties are newly constructed. Liverpool follows with 8.9%, Edinburgh with 7.4%, Swansea and Manchester both at 5.6%. Aberdeen also recorded the largest annual growth, up 2.3%, and the strongest quarterly increase of 1.8%.
Aberdeen is the only city to post a quarterly gain of more than one percentage point, and one of just six cities to see any growth over the last quarter. The other five are Leicester (0.3%), Cardiff (0.3%), Portsmouth (0.2%), Bournemouth (0.2%), and London (0.1%). However, in three of these cities, short-term increases are insufficient to reverse long-term declines. London has seen new-build supply fall 0.3% over the past year, while Cardiff and Bournemouth have both dropped 0.2%.
Over the past 12 months, only Aberdeen, Portsmouth (1.9%), Swansea (1.7%), Leicester (1.4%), and Bristol (0.5%) have recorded annual growth in new-build supply.
Is regulation slowing down delivery?
The decline in new-build availability is not solely due to fewer developments starting construction. Even completed homes are facing delays before reaching the market, largely because of new regulatory frameworks aimed at improving building safety and quality.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR), set up after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, is enforcing higher standards across residential construction. While these measures are vital for public safety, they have created bottlenecks. A shortage of qualified surveyors and assessors has slowed the approval process, leaving completed homes in limbo until all checks are passed.
These regulatory delays are compounded by an industry-wide shortage of skilled contractors, making it harder for developers to meet new requirements and launch properties quickly. The result is a longer gap between project completion and market availability, further limiting visible supply.
Uncertainty in the regulatory environment may also affect investor confidence. Overseas developers are reportedly cautious about UK projects where timelines for build-to-sell are unpredictable.
“Britain’s housing shortfall isn’t only about how many homes we build — it’s also about how quickly completed homes can reach the market,” said Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Property Inspect. “The current regulatory bottlenecks, while vital for public safety, are creating a lag between completion and availability that’s masking the true volume of housing being delivered. Until regulatory capacity catches up with policy ambition, supply statistics will continue to understate delivery and overstate decline.”
