Responding to today’s Treasury report showing that only 4% of all mortgages over the period April 2013 to March 2014, have involved either the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee or shared equity schemes, Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Hogg said:

“With analysis by the Council of Mortgage Lenders confirming the modest proportion of business attributable to Help to Buy, it is clear that any worry in relation to house price inflation is more related to lack of supply. 

“This can only be tackled by building significantly more homes and this is exactly what the hugely successful Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme is helping to achieve, with over 1200 completed sales since launch also announced today. 

“Not only is it providing buyers with the confidence to purchase, it is giving builders the certainty they need to increase production.  It is therefore imperative that ongoing funding by the Scottish Government be matched to meet demand and the scheme extended to 2020 in order to ensure any rise in housing output can be sustained. 

“Policy cannot be dictated by what may be happening in London, which is clearly a market in itself.”