Scottish Labour’s proposal to give first-time buyers £3,000 towards their property purchase would push up house prices, according to the SNP.
Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has set out plans to help people on to the property ladder in her first manifesto pledge ahead of the Holyrood election in May.
Around 28% of people aged 16-34 in Scotland own their home with a mortgage – the lowest figure since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999.
Under Ms Dugdale’s proposal, first-time buyers who save for a deposit using the UK Government’s existing Help to Buy ISA scheme will be entitled to an additional £3,000 from a Scottish Labour government.
But the SNP say the policy would push up house prices without providing any new homes.
Under the Help to Buy ISA, savers receive a 25% top-up up to the value of £3,000 from the UK Government.
People can save up to a maximum of £200 each month.
The money can be used for a deposit for a home up to the value of £250,000 outside London.
Scottish Labour said the ISA scheme would act as the “gateway” to its own bonus.
Those regularly saving a minimum of £100 each month into their ISA would be entitled to an additional £3,000 from a Scottish Labour government at the end of three years.
The party said “regular saving” would be defined as depositing money in 10 out of 12 months, with savers entitled to a £500 bonus at the end of the first year, a further £1,000 at the end of the second year and the final £1,500 at the end of year three.
Mirroring the ISA scheme, the bonus would be paid direct to the buyer’s mortgage provider, and would be available for a property up to the value of £250,000.
Ms Dugdale said: “We will effectively double the help towards saving a deposit for first-time buyers, investing an additional £3,000 for first-time buyers saving as part of our plan.”
But SNP MSP Clare Adamson said: “This is a policy that is likely to push up house prices and which will therefore be counter-productive, while not providing a single new home.
“Our focus has been on boosting housing supply in both the private sector and the social sector – and on practical measures to help first-time buyers and other home owners.
“That’s why we’ve started a new generation of council house building across Scotland, building over 6,000 council houses compared to Labour’s paltry six in office, have exceeded our affordable 30,000 house-building target this term, and aim to provide an additional 50,000 affordable homes in the next Parliament – an ambitious commitment that Labour have failed to match.
“Through our policies like Help to Buy and shared equity schemes, we are providing direct help to thousands of home buyers every year benefiting over 20,000 households into home ownership – three quarters of them under 35.”