Price ceiling offers virtually no benefits says property expert.
The Aberdeen property market will be virtually excluded from the Scottish Government’s latest Help to Buy scheme aimed at supporting housebuilding, according to a leading property expert.
The new phase of the Help to Buy scheme announced by Social Justice and Communities Minister Alex Neil, caps a price ceiling of £230,000 on eligible properties, which drops to £200,000 and £175,000 in successive years.
Due to the ongoing volatility of the oil price, property values in Aberdeen have fallen back in the last 18 months but they still remain at relatively high levels compared to other areas of Scotland.
Rodney Whyte, a partner in legal firm Pinsent Masons, and who represents a number of major housebuilders, said the new Scottish Government guidelines will put house buyers in the oil capital at a comparative disadvantage.
Mr Whyte said: “Despite the difficulties surrounding the Aberdeen property market the average price of a semi-detached house in Aberdeen City is still in excess of the proposed £230,000 ceiling in year one of the new Help to Buy Scheme.
“This will effectively exclude the average new house in Aberdeen from being eligible for assistance and with the threshold decreasing in the next two years to £200,000 and £175,000 respectively, it is most likely that in the final year of the scheme the average Aberdeen new build flat will also fall out with the eligibility parameters.
“Whilst all support is welcome, the proposed new ceiling (previously £250,000) and the reducing balance is not at all helpful in terms of encouraging growth in the Aberdeen new housing market in the current financial climate it is potentially of no benefit to most house builders and home buyers in Aberdeen city.”