Scottish Labour has warned that home ownership is becoming “out of reach” as house prices and interest rates soar.
The party was reacting to figures revealed by the Office for National Statistics, which showed the average house prices in Scotland rose by £23,929 between May 2021 and May 2023.
The Bank of England’s interest rate also increased from 0.1% to 4.5%.
The Labour party warned that mortgages have risen to their highest point in 15 years and said, due to the increase, homeowners could pay an average of £500 more per month.
The party called on Holyrood and Westminster to offer more support to people through the price increase.
A double whammy of soaring house prices and interest rates has pushed mortgages through the roof and priced out potential first-time buyers— Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “This bombshell has forced home ownership out of reach for thousands of Scots, but the Tories and the SNP are doing nothing to fix it.
“A double whammy of soaring house prices and interest rates has pushed mortgages through the roof and priced out potential first time buyers.
“What was once an aspiration will now feel like an impossible dream for many, but while they face these difficult times their governments are missing in action.
“Scots cannot be expected to weather this perfect storm alone. We need urgent support for those struggling with housing coupled with long-term economic growth to drive prices down.”
The Scottish Government has repeatedly asked the UK Government to address this, and particularly to support those most impacted by high inflation, interest rates and living costs— Shirley-Anne Somerville, SNP
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, SNP MSP and social justice secretary, cited the UK Government as the reason for the increase in house prices.
She said: “There is no doubt that a decade of austerity and economic mismanagement by Westminster, compounded by a hard Brexit Scotland didn’t vote for, is putting household budgets under severe pressure.
“The Scottish Government has repeatedly asked the UK Government to address this, and particularly to support those most impacted by high inflation, interest rates and living costs.
“We have provided almost £3 billion, both last year and this, for policies which tackle poverty and to protect people as far as possible during the cost-of-living crisis.
“We also introduced emergency legislation to protect tenants during the crisis, including increased protection for private tenants facing eviction and the introduction of a temporary rent cap.
“We remain committed to making £3.5 billion available for affordable housing over the current parliamentary session as part of our ambitious plans to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.
“The number of affordable homes completed in Scotland in the year to end of March 2023 is the highest annual figure since 2000.”
The UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities was contacted for comment.
