Help to Buy extended to 2021 in Scotland

The Help to Buy scheme will be extended in Scotland for a further two years beyond 2019, ministers have announced.

From April 2019, a further £100m will be invested over two years in the scheme that helps people buy a new-build home without needing a large deposit. It is expected that this will help up to 4,000 households buy a new home.

Since 2013, the scheme has supported more than 12,000 households. It is open to first time buyers and existing homeowners, and provides up to 15% of the purchase price of a new build home. The maximum purchase price is £200,000. Around two thirds of Help to Buy (Scotland) households were first time buyers at the time, and around half of buyers were aged 30 or under.

Announcing the extension, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: "Since we introduced Help to Buy, the scheme has not only helped thousands of buyers into new homes – it has supported around 9,000 jobs.

"A third of the annual £50m budget – £18m – will be reserved for sales from SME builders, who were particularly affected by the drop in development finance after the financial crisis.

"We know house builders still see Scotland as a place to continue to develop and invest, with the latest figures showing new house completions grew by 5% over the last year."

Help to Buy (Scotland) was launched on 30 September 2013. £313 million was invested during the first three years (2013/14 – 2015/16) of the scheme. A further £195 million was committed from 2016/17 - 2018/19.