First Homes Fund

Three Scottish housebuilders have given a cautious welcome to the Scottish Government’s plans to offer interest-free loans of up to £10,000 to first-time buyers. The new First Homes Fund, which will be available from June, applies to properties valued at up to £300,000 and is desig

A Scottish Government scheme that will provide first-time buyers with a £10,000 contribution towards a deposit on their first home will open the first round of applications by the end of June.

A Scottish think tank has accused the Scottish Government of pursuing housing policies it knows to be ineffective, warning that John Swinney’s proposed Help to Buy scheme for first‑time buyers will inflate prices, waste public money, and deepen the housing crisis rather than alleviate it.