News article 3/12/2013

(Issued 3 December 2013)

Responding to the latest Scottish Government statistics showing further falls in both new housing starts and completions to the end of June, Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of industry body Homes for Scotland said:

“These figures are obviously disappointing but not a surprise with the continuing drop in output now stretching five years. However, there is a significant time lapse in these statistics and other more up-to-date indictors signal a more positive situation. Taking these together with the recent introduction of the Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme, which is already making a big impact, we now need to ensure that this increased activity in the housing market is sustained in order that it translates into the building of much needed new homes – across all tenures.

“However, as today’s figures highlight, the situation is very fragile. Given the devastating impact the economic downturn has had in terms of industry capacity and the resultant low base any recovery must start from, it is imperative that major supply-side issues such as development finance, land supply and skills shortages be addressed if output is to increase to the levels required to meet housing need.”

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