Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Central Scotland Graham Simpson says first-time buyers ‘must be at the heart’ of the SNP’s housebuilding strategy over the next five years.
The Scottish Conservative’s call comes after price rises have spiralled in Scotland during the pandemic.
From March 2020 to August 2021, average property prices increased by 17% from nearly £175,000 to over £204,000. In Edinburgh alone, average prices have hit over £300,000.
However, during the Covid crisis, the SNP Government closed two crucial support schemes for first-time buyers. Help to Buy closed on February 5th and the First Home Fund shut for applications on 9 April.
First-time buyers in England can still access Help to Buy and also access shared ownership to help them on the property ladder.
The SNP Government have also failed to build the number of affordable homes for purchasing. Between 2016 and 2021, the SNP supported the building of 41,353 affordable homes, falling well short of their promise of 50,000 homes. Only a quarter of the homes were for purchasing.
The Scottish Conservatives are calling for a package of measures to help first-time buyers :
- Step up home building and encourage a higher portion of affordable new builds to be available to purchase for first- time buyers.
- Restore the Help to Buy scheme in full.
- Pilot a shared ownership model in Edinburgh where property prices are 48% higher than the national average to help first time buyers own a share of a property.
- Immediately increase the threshold for LBTT to £250,000 for first time buyers - saving them up to an additional £1,500 for a purchase
Commenting, Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Graham Simpson said: “More and more potential first-time buyers across Scotland are being edged out of the market as prices skyrocket. However, the SNP have closed off crucial supply lines of support that were previously available to them.
“The SNP have also resoundingly failed to meet their promises on building enough affordable homes. They are simply not on the side of first-time buyers and that must change now.
“Over the course of this Parliament, first-time buyers must be at the heart of our housebuilding strategy. Ministers should immediately restore the Help to Buy Scheme in full and raise the threshold for first-time buyers as to when they have to pay land transaction taxes.
“A generation of potential first-time buyers are at risk of being completely left behind by the SNP. Young Scots are missing out on the chance to own their own home as Nicola Sturgeon denies them the same opportunities available south of the border.
“The SNP have the money available to them from the UK Government to go further and faster in their housebuilding programme.
“The Scottish Conservatives are today setting out a real plan to support first-time buyers. It is time the SNP stopped putting a handbrake on so many individuals and families’ dream of home ownership.”
