Is regulation to blame for decline in Britain’s new-build supply?

The analysis shows that new-build supply in Britain has fallen by -0.1% since Q2 2025, and -0.4% since Q3 2024. As such, new-builds now account for 5.9% of national housing supply. 

New-builds account for the largest proportion of supply in Aberdeen where 12.9% of current listings are new-builds. Aberdeen is followed by Liverpool (8.9%), Edinburgh (7.4%), Swansea (5.6%), and Manchester (5.6%). 

The Scottish city has also seen the biggest annual increase, rising 2.3% over the year, and the most significant quarterly growth, up 1.8%.

In fact, Aberdeen stands out as the only city to post an increase of more than one percentage point, and one of just six cities to record any kind of positive quarterly growth. 

The other five cities are Leicester (0.3%), Cardiff (0.3%), Portsmouth (0.2%), Bournemouth (0.2%), and London (0.1%). 

However, for three of these cities, quarterly increases still aren’t enough to reverse a trend of long-term decline. London has seen new-build supply fall by -0.3% on the year, while Cardiff and Bournemouth have both recorded drops of -0.2%. 

Alongside Aberdeen, only four other cities have increased new-build supply over the past year. They are Portsmouth (1.9%), Swansea (1.7%), Leicester (1.4%), and Bristol (0.5%).

Is regulation slowing down delivery?
 

While it may seem that a decline in new-build supply is purely the result of fewer developments breaking ground, the reality may be more nuanced. Even homes that have been physically completed are now facing additional delays before they can officially come to market, due in part to new regulatory frameworks introduced to improve building safety and quality. 

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR), established to enforce higher standards in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, is playing a crucial role in reshaping the landscape of residential construction. However, this necessary shift has not come without growing pains. 

A shortage of qualified surveyors and assessors - and questions over the competence of those already in post - has led to significant bottlenecks in the approval process. Many developers are finding that completed homes are being held in limbo, unable to be legally occupied or listed until all regulatory checks are passed. The BSR’s processes, though vital for public safety, are proving to be another layer of friction in an already strained supply chain. 

These delays are exacerbated by an industry-wide shortfall in competent contractors, with developers reporting difficulties in both securing labour and meeting the stringent new requirements. As a result, the time between project completion and market launch has widened — further constraining the visible supply of new homes. 

What’s more, this uncertain and complex regulatory environment may be impacting international confidence in UK development, with overseas investors showing caution in markets where build-to-sell timelines are becoming increasingly unpredictable. 

Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director at Property Inspect, commented: 

"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. 

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." 

Data tables and sources

• *New-build listings data sourced from Rightmove (23/09/2025)

• Demand based on the proportion of all new-build listings that have already been marked as sold subject to contract.

• Full data tables and sources can be viewed online, here