New homes warning as demand rises

EDINBURGH continues to lag on housebuilding projects and must construct 3000 homes every year to keep up with demand, a leading estate agent has warned,

Rettie & Co highlighted that 22,000 new households will form over the next 20 years in the Capital but supply continues outstrip demand.

The principal reasons for this are the lack of development finance and planning constraints from local government, the firm wrote in its annual report.

In 2011-12, there were 1558 new affordable homes for approved for development in Edinburgh – the largest number of new affordable homes since 2004.

Midlothian has seen some of the strongest growth in building and is “increasingly attractive to developers for building family homes at affordable prices and within commutable distance to Edinburgh”, the firm noted.