Pressures are increasing on the housing market

Communities Minister Margaret Curran said an official study has highlighted areas where it has become difficult for many people to afford homes.

The minister said Scotland has not experienced the same level of house price inflation evident in England.

However, she said �20m in assistance has been set aside for areas including Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Inverness.

The Scottish housing market has not experienced the same price inflation as south of the border because more houses are being built per head in Scotland than in England.

Property ladder

The minister said: "The way the Scottish housing market works affects all our lives, and the risk is that it is the most vulnerable who lose out as prices rise.

"That's why I called for this analysis to establish the true state of the market in Scotland.

"It shows that although the market as a whole isn't as overheated as in England, there are still real hot-spots and challenges for us.

"We need both to provide social rented housing and do more to ensure first-time buyers can get a foot on the property ladder."

The funding will be used to pay for various projects within these areas and other problem areas across Scotland.

Housing plans

Pressurised areas within some of Scotland's cities and the Borders will receive �6.8m to increase bought and rented housing supplies.

Housing associations will be given a helping hand with �8.4m being used to create "landbanks" in fast-growing areas through the targeted purchasing of land.

In Inverness, �1.6m will be used to pilot a shared-equity scheme where the buyer only needs to buy half of their house with the housing provider retaining the other half of the capital.

While �2m will go towards accelerating existing affordable housing schemes and �1m will support local authorities establishing cash incentive schemes for tenants within the private sector.

Ms Curran pledged to expand supply

Ms Curran said the Scottish Executive was in the process of building or refurbishing 6,000 homes a year and new council borrowing rules would allow increased investment in affordable housing.

"This is just the start," she said. "Looking further ahead, we are already looking at overhauling the planning system so that it can react faster to needs.

"Work on the development of affordability targets for Scotland and its diverse housing market areas will be taken forward over the next year.

"And we are looking at ways to expand the supply of affordable housing for sale and rent in Scotland through discussions with the house builders."

David Knight, Chairman of Homes for Scotland, which represents the Scottish house building industry, said: "We welcome the minister's recognition that housing for sale is an essential part of solving the problem of providing affordable new homes for people in Scotland."

Class distinction

However, housing charity Shelter Scoland warned that the minister's move may fail to answer Scotland's housing crisis if it does not provide the new homes for rent required.

Shelter parliamentary and policy officer Grainia Long said: "Affordable housing is used by the executive to describe many kinds of housing.

"Shelter believes that the executive must make the distinction between social rented housing and various forms of low-cost home ownership.