News article 12/09/2013

(Issued 11 September 2013)

Responding to today’s (11 September) draft budget announcement, Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of trade body Homes for Scotland said:

“Whilst any additional spending on housing has to be positively welcomed, quarterly figures published last month show a fall of 25% in housing completions across all sectors and starts slumping to their lowest figure on record, illustrating the scale of the housing crisis in Scotland. Tackling this issue will require bold vision, commitment and action from all parties in order to halt the decline of what is a key national indicator.

“With the Help to Buy scheme in England having generated 12,500 transactions since its launch just a few months ago, we look forward to the imminent launch of the Scottish Government’s promised £120m shared equity initiative.

“Proposals to increase regulation and cost which threaten to further depress housing supply must also be reconsidered if we are to avoid investment being channeled elsewhere.”

Ends