Community / People ‘left in limbo’ in struggle get onto the property ladder

Updated by November ,16, 2021

IT HAS been described by some as the “elephant in the room” – the barriers first-time buyers in Shetland are facing as they struggle to get their foot on the property ladder.

With a buoyant property market, expensive private rents and a long waiting list for social housing, many of Shetland’s younger generation are struggling to find a place to call their own home.

One such person is Disa Hunter from Lerwick, who has been thinking about buying a home for the past few years.

But the amount houses are selling for in Shetland is deterring the 29-year-old from bidding for a home.

Estate agents have reported a hot market, with the Covid pandemic seemingly attracting extra interest in local housing from outside Shetland.

But increased competition has increased sale prices, and this is leaving those without a large deposit or a bulging bank balance adrift – with a lack of available or affordable housing seen as a potential spark for migration out of Shetland.

Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) housing manager Anita Jamieson concedes that, with the pandemic intensifying things, there is “no quick fix”.

Hunter rented privately after finishing university, but she then moved back in with her parents to save up enough money for a deposit.

However, with a desire to stay in Lerwick to be close to family and her work, she feels unable to compete with the amount of money over the asking price properties tend to go for.

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