STEVENSON HAILS START OF £60 MILLION SCHEME TO HELP FIRST TIME BUYERS

Banff & Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson has welcomed the launch of a £60 million Scottish Government scheme to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder through a shared-equity scheme. The Open Market Shared Equity pilot scheme had previously operated in 10 of Scotland’s councils, but will now be expanded to cover the entire nation.

The increased budget of £60 million is expected to help 1,500 households onto the property ladder in its first year of operation. The scheme is part of the Scottish Government's Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, to help people on low to moderate incomes buy an affordable home where that is sustainable for them.

Through the Open Market scheme, buyers can own a home, but only pay for a proportion of it - between 60 and 80 per cent of its value - with the Government funding the remainder through taking an interest-free equity stake. The buyer does not pay any charges on the equity stake, but pays the Scottish Government a proportion of the sale price at the time of sale, or earlier if they wish.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“The start of this scheme is excellent news for residents of Banff & Buchan who have previously struggled to get their foot on the property ladder. It will also benefit people who are struggling to sell their properties by stimulating property sales across the market as people are able to move up the ladder.

“While purchasing a property is not the right option for everybody, it is important that there is adequate support for those who are trying to but are being priced out of the market.

“I would hope that this will help stimulate more activity in the Banff & Buchan property market and provide a boost to the local economy. The SNP Government is determined to help families struggling with the downturn and along with other initiatives, I believe that this scheme will help to do just that”.