Scottish Help to Buy scheme extended for two years

The Scottish Government has extended funding of its Help to Buy shared equity scheme for a further two years.

Since the scheme was introduced in Scotland in 2013, more than 12,000 households have used the scheme to purchase qualifying new build homes with a 5% deposit. This in turn has supported about 9,000 jobs and contributed over half a billion pounds in Gross Value Added to the economy.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart commented:

“A third of the annual £50m budget – £18m – will be reserved for sales from SME builders, who were particularly affected by the drop in development finance after the financial crisis.
“We know house builders still see Scotland as a place to continue to develop and invest, with the latest figures showing new house completions grew by 5% over the last year.”

Nicola Barclay, chief executive of Homes for Scotland, said:

“This is great news on a number of fronts as the Scottish Government clearly recognises the value and wide-ranging benefits that its Help to Buy initiative provides.”

She added that the additional funding would help provide the certainty house building companies need to invest in and open up new sites and expand the number of homes available to new purchasers.

She also said it would also ease pressure in other parts of the housing market as people move into home ownership from socially rented homes and come off council house waiting lists.

“Housing is about more than bricks and mortar,” she said. “We want to provide safe, warm homes, help create a fairer Scotland, and preserve a diverse and more resilient construction sector.”

 

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