Home truths

Allan Lundmark's attack on Shelter Scotland (Letters, 12 June) both misrepresents our position and overlooks the scale of the housing crisis facing Scotland.

Far from being "politically expedient", Shelter Scotland's annual affordability index has been running since 1994 and is an independent study prepared by the University of York. For some time now, we have been warning that rampant house price inflation and the failure to build enough new social homes was storing up problems for the future. Many people are being priced out of the market – as they were before the recession and will continue to be in the future. The evidence shows it has never been harder for a first-time buyer to become a home owner.

We believe a home is first and foremost a place to live, rather than simply an investment vehicle, vulnerable to the fluctuations of the market.

GRAEME BROWN

Director, Shelter Scotland

South Charlotte Street

Edinburgh