New housing agency for Scotland to deliver simplicity, scale and speed - Is buying a house beyond average earners

22nd January 2026

First Minister John Swinney has confirmed the Scottish Government intends to establish a new national housing agency with a focus on simplicity, scale and speed to enable the delivery of housing of all types, helping to meet housing need across Scotland.

The executive agency will be called ‘More Homes Scotland' and is expected to start operating from 2027-28 and be fully functional in 2028-29, subject to the outcome of the Scottish Parliament election.

It will focus on a number of key areas - large-scale affordable housing projects; rural and island housing; acquiring, preparing and releasing land; enabling infrastructure work to unlock stalled sites; and closer working with the Scottish National Investment Bank to make best use of private finance.

A process to co-design the functions and operating model of the new agency will be led by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing in partnership with local authorities and the Scottish National Investment Bank over the coming months, with an update expected to be provided to the Scottish Parliament in March.

The First Minister made the announcement on a visit to a housing development in Wallyford, East Lothian alongside Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan. The 90-home site, developed by Wheatley Homes, includes mid-market and social rented homes.

The First Minister said:

"Since 2007, the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of 141,000 affordable homes in Scotland, including 101,000 for social rent - proportionately far more than other parts of the UK. We have helped thousands of families to have a warm, safe and affordable place to call home.

"However, Scotland is facing a housing emergency. We recognise the difficulty that many Scots - in particular young Scots - have finding a home they can afford to rent or buy. 

"We have firm foundations and have recently stepped up our efforts. The 2026-27 draft Scottish Budget includes the single largest funding allocation to affordable housing since records began in 1989. We have committed to invest up to £4.9 billion over the next four years, backed by a record £4.1 billion of public investment, helping to deliver 36,000 affordable homes and providing a place to live for around 24,000 children. This is providing record funding and more multi-year certainty than ever before

"This, along with other policy measures, has given confidence to the investment community. However, we must have a public sector delivery model that can rise to our enhanced ambitions.

"A new national agency will mean less duplication, greater expertise, increased efficiencies, and making our substantial investment go further. It will also provide enhanced support to our local authority partners and we will work in partnership with the Scottish National Investment Bank to attract more commercial investment.

“It is a new body that will offer simplicity, scale and speed - boosting delivery, and maximising savings, as part of our commitment to a decade of public sector modernisation and reform.

“More Homes Scotland will meet the needs of this time. It will deliver - for a new generation of Scots - new homes more quickly, more affordably, in more liveable, climate friendly communities."

David Ritchie Scottish National Investment Bank Chief Executive David Ritchie said:

"The Bank has invested more than £130 million in housing to date, with a robust pipeline of more potential housing investments. We welcome More Homes Scotland being established to bring momentum in finding housing solutions.

“As a mission-led investor, the Bank makes commercial investments that drive long-term societal and economic growth for Scotland. Our ‘Place' mission is focused on improving communities, and a good home is a key tenet of that.

“Working with private investors and homebuilders we have developed innovative approaches to unlock finance, getting much-needed homes built across Scotland."

Background

A record £926 million of funding has been allocated to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in the draft Scottish Budget 2026-27 - the biggest allocation for affordable housing since records began in 1989.

Between 2007-08 and 2024-25, the annual average supply of affordable housing per head of population in Scotland has been 14.4 homes per 10,000 population, 69% higher than Wales (8.6 homes per 10,000 population), 45% higher than England (9.9 homes per 10,000 population) and 16% higher than Northern Ireland (12.4 homes per 10,000 population - average across the years 2010-11 to 2021-22).

Housing Emergency Action Plan

Delivery costs of the new agency will be determined in the design process and reported to Parliament in due course, in line with public sector reform principles.

Scotland's Housing Shortage - The Big Picture

Scotland is widely acknowledged to be in a housing crisis and “housing emergency", driven by a chronic shortage of affordable and social homes combined with rising demand and lengthy waiting lists. The Scottish Parliament and at least 13 of Scotland's 32 councils have formally declared housing emergencies due to these pressures.

Shortage of Affordable and Social Homes

There are significant shortages of homes available at social rent levels, meaning many households cannot afford to live in suitable housing.

Housebuilding — including social housing — has been weakening: approved and started homes for social rent fell to some of the lowest levels in a decade in recent years.

A snapshot of social housing lists shows roughly 177,000 total applications on local authority housing lists, with around 135,000 people waiting for social housing specifically.

The combination of high demand and limited new supply underpins the overall housing shortage.

How Long Are Council/Social Housing Waiting Lists?

Waiting times vary widely across Scotland, because councils use different allocation systems and take account of need and priority. But available figures point to very long waits for many applicants:

General Scotland-Wide Figures

Average waiting times for a council home in most areas exceed 1 year, and in some cases much longer, according to Freedom of Information data from multiple councils.

In 21 of 29 responding councils, the average wait for social housing was more than 12 months, and in 24 councils the longest recorded waits were over 20 years.

These figures illustrate that while some applicants may be housed within a couple of years, others can wait for decades — especially if they are not in the highest priority categories.

Local Authority Examples

Aberdeen City reported average waits exceeding 10 years on council lists (including people waiting for a transfer) and some tenants specified as non-priority having been on lists for over 30 years.

In East Lothian, average waits for a home were around nearly 5 years, with neighbouring areas like Edinburgh showing average waits of around 3.8 years.

Smaller councils exhibit great variation — in Aberdeenshire, average waits were reported around 8 months though exceptional wait times still ran into decades for some.

What Influences These Waiting Times?

Several factors help explain why waiting lists are so long:

Priority-Based Allocation

Most Scottish councils use needs-based systems, not first-come-first-served. Applicants with the most urgent needs (homelessness, medical/ disability requirements, overcrowding) are prioritised, while others can wait years for an offer.

Limited Social Housing Supply

Despite Scotland’s long-term social housing targets, delivery has slowed, contributing to a gap between supply and demand.

Larger Waiting Lists

With tens of thousands of households on waiting lists — and more people becoming homeless each year — the queue continues to grow.

Housing shortage is structural — Scotland is experiencing a sustained gap between the available affordable homes and the number of people who need them. This has prompted formal “housing emergency" declarations in multiple localities.

Waiting lists are long and uneven — while some may be rehoused within a few years, others face waits of 5, 10, or even 20+ years depending on local authority and priority level.

Tens of thousands are queued — over 135,000 people wait for social housing, with many also living in temporary accommodation while they wait.

Is the cost of buying a house beyond anyone earning average wages

For many people in Scotland (and across the UK), buying a house is difficult on an average wage — but not strictly impossible. In most places outside a few urban centres, houses cost several times average annual earnings, meaning many households cannot afford a typical home without financial help, larger deposits, or multiple earners.

What “affordable” means — house price to earnings ratio

Economists commonly measure affordability by comparing median house prices to average household incomes. A ratio of about 3-4 times income is often considered relatively manageable; the higher the ratio, the more out of reach houses become for typical earners.

According to official data (latest available from the Office for National Statistics):

In Scotland, the median house price to average household income ratio was roughly 5.3:1 (i.e., average homes cost about 5.3 times average earnings).

By comparison across Great Britain in that same analysis, England’s ratio was around 7.9:1, while Wales was about 5.4:1 and Northern Ireland about 4.6:1.

This means that, on average, the typical Scottish home costs far more than five years of earnings for a household — a level widely seen as beyond the reach of someone earning only the average wage, if they are buying on their own without family support.

What that looks like in practice

Here’s how affordability plays out in real money based on recent figures:

Median Scottish house price: £185,000

Average household income: £35,000–£43,000

Affordability ratio: 5–5.5 × income

At that level:

A household earning the average would need to spend the equivalent of five years of income just to match the average house price — before accounting for a deposit, interest, living costs, or mortgage approval rules.

In parts of Scotland with higher prices (e.g., Edinburgh), ratios can still be close to 6–7 times local wages.

Even though affordability has improved slightly recently in the UK because wages have risen faster than house prices, prices are still well above what a single average income alone can comfortably support in many places.

Affordability is better in Scotland than in much of the UK

Nationally in Great Britain, house price-to-earnings ratios improved in late 2025, falling to around 4.7:1 — the lowest level in more than a decade — because wage growth outpaced house prices and mortgage costs softened.

Scotland and parts of northern England tended to be more affordable than southern England and London — in some Scottish towns the ratio can be closer to 3:1 or lower, making home buying more feasible for average-earning households.

Still, even a ratio of ~4–5 means a typical home costs significantly more than what most mortgage lenders will advance based on earnings alone (many lenders cap borrowing at about 4.5 times income), meaning most buyers need savings for a deposit or another income source.

Is it beyond average earners?

Yes and no:

In many Scottish areas, especially outside major cities, the average house is still mathematically reachable for an average-earning household — but it requires a substantial deposit and often dual incomes or external financial help.

In the most expensive towns and cities (like Edinburgh), average-wage earners would find it very challenging to buy without help, because prices are 6–7 times income or higher.

In the UK overall, especially in London and the South East, holdings are beyond the reach of most people on average wages without support or extraordinary saving.

So while not strictly “impossible,” the cost of buying a house on an average salary puts it out of reach for many people without significant savings, help from family, or dual incomes, particularly in high-demand areas.