An estimated 90,000 people commute daily into Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, from the surrounding area, including thousands from homes in West Lothian.

Over recent years, West Lothian towns such as Livingston, the fourth of Scotland’s ‘new towns’ to be built since the Second World War, have enjoyed a housing boom thanks to the continued economic expansion of the capital.

A quick search online reveals a plethora of new build housing readily available to buy not only in Livingston, but in many other of West Lothian’s major towns and many villages, including Armadale, Bathgate, Broxburn, Linlithgow and Whitburn.

Expect to pay upwards of £200,000 for a four-bedroom new build house in Bathgate, for example, or around £120,000 and more for a two-bedroom flat in one of several new housing developments in Livingston.

Of course, there are also many older houses for sale, from flats to semi-detached and detached properties, one-bedroom to five or six-bedroom homes and more. All of which begs the question, to buy or not to buy new build? Difficult one given the variety and prices and the huge number of older homes in West Lothian available at any given time.

So what are the advantages of buying new build homes? Plenty, says Homes for Scotland, which describes itself as the voice of the home building industry in Scotland, and whose 160-strong membership of building companies provides 95% of all new homes built for sale in Scotland each year.

For starters, affordability is one advantage. The difficulties faced by the housing market, says Homes for Scotland, over the last three years have resulted in lower prices which have improved affordability, directly favouring those in a position to buy.

The new build sector offered valuable help not available with second-hand properties. This included assistance with deposits, moving costs, part-exchange, shared equity and rent-to-buy schemes.

Whilst this still might not be the time to make a quick return, says Homes for Scotland, the housing market is cyclical and new homes are a sound investment in the medium to long-term. The number of new homes built in Scotland has halved since 2007, meaning there will be an even greater housing shortage as the market recovers.

“People continue to need comfortable, reliable places to live – new homes are guaranteed, sustainable and built to the highest standards, making them much more energy efficient than their Victorian equivalent and offering potential savings of £500 on annual fuel costs. In fact, carbon emissions of the average Scottish house have been reduced by well over 60% from 1990 levels.

“It costs an average of £22,000 to bring an old house up to the standard specification of a new home which, in contrast, offers a bright, fresh, untouched property with fully-fitted, up-to-date kitchens and bathrooms, plus a choice of certain finishes and coverings, including tiling and flooring.

“New homes come with the peace of mind a ten year warranty offers as well as outstanding help and customer satisfaction at record levels.

“So with interest rates at continuing record lows, a range of attractive deal currently on offer and a variety of innovative solutions available from home builders to help people achieve their dream move onto and up the property ladder, now is a good time to buy.”