Nicola Sturgeon: Buying houses helps to stimulate economy too OWNING a home is rightly a cherished aspiration for people across Scotland. And moving house, as our lives and circumstances change, can be a necessity. There is no doubt that getting on to, or moving up the property ladder has become tougher in recent years. The recession has been tough, and savage Westminster cuts have not helped. Many of our young people, seeking to make their way in life, are finding it tough to make it on to the property ladder. And all house-buyers are being hampered by the lack of affordable mortgages, with high deposits often a major barrier. The statistics are stark. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, there were 44,000 loans advanced for all home purchases in Scotland in 2011 compared to 105,000 in 2006 - a dramatic fall of 60%. That is why the Scottish Government is responding to the real pressures that individuals and families across Scotland face trying to buy a home. Earlier this week, I was in Edinburgh to launch a new mortgage indemnity scheme, backed by our leading lenders. It encourages lenders to offer more high loan-to-value mortgages to creditworthy borrowers who are currently unable to put down the large deposits demanded in the current mortgage market. It will help households across Scotland who could afford a mortgage on a new build property, but are currently locked out due to high deposit requirements. Creditworthy borrowers will be able to access 90 to 95% loan to value mortgages from participating lenders to buy new build homes in Scotland, with a maximum sales price of £250,000. Over the past four years, our Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) shared equity schemes have helped more than 5,000 people to buy their first home. This is a great achievement. Our schemes have not only helped people to buy their first home, they have also helped "second-steppers" to be able to sell their home and to move to a new property. And earlier this month, the Scottish Government doubled the funding for our Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) from more than £10m to more than £20m. In the short term, we are opening up the scheme to help all first-time buyers in Scotland. This means that families, couples, and single people who have been saving to buy their first home will have an opportunity to take that first step on to the property ladder. First-time buyers are provided with the freedom to look for a property on the open market that is within certain price thresholds and then take on between 60 and 90 per cent of their home. The Scottish Government is involved by funding the rem­aining amount by taking an interest-free equity stake. This is a fair scheme, targeted at those who need it most. Everyone that applies needs to demonstrate that they cannot buy a house suitable for their needs without backing from the scheme. We are also helping first-time buyers by operating two other shared equity schemes - the New Supply Shared Equity Scheme and the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers Scheme. Both of these schemes help buyers to buy new build properties. But this is not just about helping people to buy houses. Our actions are also stimulating the economy. Homes for Scotland is pro-jecting that their mortgage indemnity scheme has potential to generate sales of up to £1 billion over three years, and could also create or safeguard 22,800 new construction jobs and more than 650 apprenticeships. Nicola Sturgeon is Deputy First Minister of Scotland