House hunters in Scotland have completed 5,000 sales under the Scottish Help to Buy shared equity scheme since its launch. The value of these sales has passed the £1bn mark.

Now Jim Mather, new head of the organisation, has called on the government to ‘evolve’ the scheme and continue supporting first-time buyers, house building and the wider economy.

At a conference in Edinburgh he called on the government to outline what will happen when the Scottish Help to Buy reaches its planned end date in March 2016.

He said both buyers and builders needed to have confidence and predictability so they could plan their purchasing and investments.

Mather also said the Scottish Government must work closely with the industry and other key stakeholders to avoid any unintended negative consequences. He said they could damage the industry’s ability to deliver more new homes.

Scotland’s housing minister Margaret Burgess said: “The Scottish Government has invested hundreds of millions of pounds to pursue a range of initiatives to support private sector activity.

“Whilst the delivery of affordable housing remains our top priority, the Scottish Government is committed to see an increase in supply across all tenures, delivering a strong sustainable economy and supporting a fairer society.”