More than 8,000 households have now received support to own their own home through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme, social justice secretary Alex Neil has announced.

Since 2013 the Scottish Government has invested £500 million to help first time buyers and existing home owners purchase a new build home through the original Help to Buy scheme and the successor Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable Home Ownership.

Over the six-year period this major investment is expected to help up to 15,000 households across Scotland and support jobs in the construction sector.

Mr Neil said: “With 8,000 households now helped to buy their own home and with the new scheme expected to support up to 7,500 more individuals and families to own a new home over the next three years, Help to Buy (Scotland) is making a real difference to people in Scotland.

“By targeting our resources at affordable homes our new scheme is tackling inequalities and widening access to home ownership, plus providing the private sector and construction industry with a huge boost.

“We are also supporting people on low to moderate incomes with £80 million allocated to our popular Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) to help up to 2,000 first time buyers.”

Industry body Homes for Scotland said the statistics serve to highlight the wider picture of housing need across the country.

Chief executive Nicola Barclay said: “With the majority of Scots aspiring to own their own home, these milestone figures clearly highlight the demand that exists for this hugely successful scheme. As the next tranche of funding is expected to support up to a further 7,500 individuals and families, the scheme’s positive impact will continue to be felt in terms of its ability to stimulate employment and the wider economy.

“Given the close interconnections between sectors, the scheme has also helped to deliver affordable housing through the direct contribution made through the planning system.

“That is why we are calling on the next Scottish Government to tackle the country’s housing crisis head-on through an all-tenure approach that manages a return to pre-recession build levels which would result in at least 100,000 new homes by the end of the Parliamentary term.”

A number of sales are still expected to complete from the 2015/16 scheme year – but due to annual budget restrictions home builders have been informed that the funds must be drawn down by March 31.