Humza Yousaf unilaterally scrapped the Scottish National party’s landmark coalition with the Greens yesterday and signalled that he will drop vote-losing policies, which one senior estate agent hopes will include housing.

Following the surprise decision by the first minister to sack the Scottish Greens’ two co-leaders, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, from government, David Alexander, the chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, is hoping that the Scottish government will now consider rethinking its housing policy.

“The departure of the Greens from the Scottish government will hopefully allow for a reset of their policy on housing,” he said. “The last couple of years have seen a toxic atmosphere with policies designed to negatively impact on the private rented sector, completely unrealistic targets for boiler replacement in homes, and an approach that was not inclusive, consultative, or constructive.”

The catalyst for the crisis had been his government’s decision last week to abandon its target to cut Scotland’s carbon emissions by 75% by 2030, a decision that provoked an open rebellion by Scottish Green party members.

That rebellion in turn forced Harvie and Slater to agree to an emergency vote by their party on staying in government – a concession that rattled Yousaf and immediately raised questions about the coalition’s viability, and that is why he opted to axe the power-sharing deal that was in place.

Alexander added: “I would hope that we can rebuild relations and restart discussions on the future of the housing sector and build a consensus which accurately reflects the needs of Scots now and in the future.

“We need more homes for buyers, and for tenants in the social and private rented sectors, and we need to ensure that everyone is engaged in providing sufficient homes in the coming years.”

Also commenting on the ending of the power-sharing deal between the SNP and Green Party in Scotland, Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, agrees that this must be taken as an opportunity to “reset and rethink” key housing policy at a time when rents are rising.

He continued: “There is uncertainty for agents and their landlords, local authorities are declaring housing emergencies and there is not enough property for people to rent across Scotland.

“Tax burdens on home buyers and those looking to purchase buy to let property must be reduced and any plans for minimum energy efficiency standards for homes must be realistic, achievable and provide funding incentives through grants and clear advice to help people improve their homes and property.

“The cost of living legislation that introduced rent caps has damaged investment in Scotland, reduced available property to rent and caused rents to rise. We urge the First Minister to take this opportunity to rethink future plans for rent control and introduce measures that increase the supply of homes across Scotland that will ultimately make renting and buying a home more affordable.”

The collapse of the agreement triggered calls from Labour and the Scottish Conservatives for a snap Holyrood election. Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, announced the Tories would be tabling a vote of no confidence in Yousaf, which is likely to take place next week.