Swinney Faces Housing Pressure as Scotland Lending Lags

Scotland’s housing market added only 8 per cent more home purchase loans in 2025, even as lending across the UK rose by 17 per cent. Around 66,000 loans were recorded in Scotland, leaving the country behind a wider market that kept moving faster.

John Swinney has faced pressure over the Scottish Government’s response to the housing crisis, two years after ministers declared a housing emergency. The figures point to a market where cheaper homes have not been enough to lift transactions at the same pace as elsewhere in Britain.

UK Finance And Scotland

UK Finance said the number of loans for house purchases jumped by 17 per cent across the UK in 2025. In Scotland, the total rose from roughly 61,000 the year before to about 66,000 in 2025, including about 34,200 loans for first-time buyers and 31,900 for home-movers.

The same research showed seven of the ten most affordable local authorities in the UK are in Scotland, with East Ayrshire and Inverclyde offering the most affordable homes. Borrowers there were spending around 17 per cent of their income on mortgage costs, compared with more than 25.7 per cent in North Norfolk.

RICS Market Confidence

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said Scotland’s slowdown is being driven by confidence rather than cost. Its survey found fewer homeowners putting properties up for sale and new listings also falling, while one surveyor said there was "a general lack of confidence in the sales market from sellers and buyers due to world events, increasing living costs, mortgages and upcoming elections creating uncertainty."

That weakness comes even though the average fixed-rate mortgage deal is around five to six per cent, and the Bank of England has kept its main interest rate at 3.75 per cent. UK Finance said, "This report highlights how significantly the homebuying experience can vary across the UK, reinforcing that there is no single UK mortgage market."

Scottish Lending Gap

Northern Ireland saw home purchase lending growth of 11 per cent, while some English regions rose by more than 20 per cent, including the East Midlands and East Anglia. Scotland’s 8 per cent rise leaves it closer to a stagnant market than to the stronger lending growth seen elsewhere.

For buyers and sellers in Scotland, the practical effect is that low prices alone are not moving the market. The next test is whether more homes reach the market, because the present bottleneck is coming from confidence, not affordability.