To rent or to buy? That is the question

Whether to buy or rent has always been a topical issue.

Here in Britain we prefer to be the kings of our own castles, but our counterparts in mainland Europe have other ideas – preferring long term rental opportunities over outright homeownership.

Germany has the greatest proportion of homerenters in Europe, where only 39 per cent of the population own the homes that they live in compared with about 60 per cent here in Britain.

Homebuilder Stewart Milne has looked at the stats to get a clearer picture however, and found recent research conducted by Halifax which highlights that Scots are 17 per cent better off when they become homeowners.

According to the research, a person buying a house will save £103 a month compared with someone renting.

Combine with that the government’s Help To Buy initiative which has been extended until 2021, and suddenly buying a house now makes a whole lot of sense.

Stewart Milne Homes has a range of stunning homes on which Help to Buy is currently available.

These include the twobedroom Aberwood at Silver Birches in Alford which starts from £194,995, and Monarch’s Rise in Arbroath, where threebedroom properties start at £168,995.

John Low, managing director of Stewart Milne Homes, said: “We have recently seen an increase in first-time buyers at our developments across the north of Scotland and it’s understandable that people are increasingly looking to get their foot on the property ladder.

“The extension of the Help to Buy scheme from 2019 to 2021 is great news for those looking to own their own home.”

The Argyll house type