Owning a home ‘distant dream’ for many

Home ownership is now a “distant dream” for many Scots as house prices soar against stagnating wage rises, Labour has said.

Figures from the UK House Price Index show the average house in Scotland shot up by more than £11,000 in two years – from £150,794 in 2019 to £161,855 last year.

Meanwhile, the median wage has fallen slightly by £181 – a 0.5% drop, Scottish Labour said.

Last year’s average wage was £31,659 compared to £30,000 in 2019, according to Nomis, which provides official labour market statistics.

Labour’s housing spokesman Mark Griffin urged the Scottish Government to develop a plan to help struggling Scots afford their own home in the face of rising rent costs and soaring social housing waiting lists.

House prices have almost trebled since 2002, with the average price rising by more than £100,000.

But over the same period, wages rose by just £12,500 – or 66%.

Mr Griffin said: “For far too many people, home ownership is becoming a distant dream as the yawning gulf between house prices and earnings grows by the day. Scotland’s broken housing market has been spiralling out of control for years while the SNP failed to act, instead letting things escalate to crisis point.”

A government spokesman said the country continued to “be a good place to buy a first home, with the average first-time buyer spending nearly £100,000 less than in England”.

He added: “We are supporting home ownership through our ‘Lift’ scheme, which helps people on low-tomoderate incomes to buy their first home.”