The £500k development has been funded by a £336k development facility from Bank of Scotland, together with the developer’s own capital.

The Castle Street Court development has been built on a brownfield site, previously a local brewery and public house. The public house, considered to be the first in Scotland, has already been renovated and forms an additional property on the site.

The five three-bed townhouses cost in the range of £140k, with buyers looking to take advantage of the Scottish Government’s Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) which helps households access home ownership by providing a percentage of the equity.

Castle Homes was established over 12 years ago in the North East. Over the years the business has been involved in a wide range of building projects, both domestic and commercial, with Castle Street Court being the first new development it has undertaken.

Alan Cruickshank, principle director at Castle Homes, said: “There’s a strong demand for quality homes and we’ve been careful to invest in sites with great potential. So far these new properties have been popular with buyers, with three of the five having sold already. One of which has just been purchased by Aberdeenshire Council for its shared equity scheme.

“The funding from Bank of Scotland has allowed us to complete this development and will help fund future projects as the opportunities arise. We are excited to see what 2018 holds for the growth of the housing market in the North East.”

Mark Simpson, relationship manager, SME Banking, for Bank of Scotland, added: “The North of Scotland housing market is growing in confidence. Bank of Scotland is proud to support Castle Homes in their drive to build quality and affordable properties to plug the first-time buyer housing gap and help Scotland prosper.”

“The house building sector is vital to the Scottish economy, therefore, we are delighted to be delivering the support the sector needs.”