The Scottish Executive has set aside £20m to boost affordable housebuilding in property “hot spots”, where prices have spiralled.

Funds will be allocated to high-demand areas such as Aberdeenshire, Inverness, the Borders and Edinburgh.

The decision follows research by the executive into housing demand in Scotland.

The study, published last Thursday, found that despite a surfeit of affordable homes there are not enough in the areas where demand is highest.

There is a glut of social housing in some areas – Glasgow has a surplus of 3500 affordable homes. But in Edinburgh and Inverness, price rises and homelessness are problems.

Edinburgh alone needs more than 3000 affordable homes.

Affordable housebuilding may have to increase by 1000 homes a year to 7000 if the overheating homes market is to be cooled, the executive’s report said. But if people were prepared to live further from their work, only 4000 new affordable homes would be needed each year.

“Undersupply in some areas is a pressing concern, though overall Scotland has not experienced the inflation of England,” said a spokesman for the executive.

Source

Housing Today