Rise in House Sales Boost Confidence in Recovery
Hope has returned to the Scottish housing market after a strong surge in sales in the last quarter. Growth is up 17 per cent over this time last year.
A rise of over 29 per cent growth has taken place, when comparing 1st quarter residential home sales north of the Scottish border against the 2nd quarter of this year.
Over the past year, sales across the country have increased by 17 per cent, mirroring a rise in the average home price.
Although experts believe these increases represent a shift in the right direction, they maintain that the recovery is still fragile and things could still slow down by the end of the year.
The figures showed wide variations in the performance of the housing market in Scotland, with annual sales volumes ballooning in areas such as Angus (up over 30 per cent), Dumfries and Galloway (up 2.9 per cent) and Perth and Kinross (up 34 per cent).
Edinburgh is still the most expensive area in the country, while the Western Isles remained the cheapest. Looking at the big picture, the statistics meant the Scottish residential market went through its fifth straight month of gains.
Jason Scott, estate agency partner at Warner, said the figures were ‘very positive’ and indicated "the worst of the fallout from the credit crunch is now behind us."
He added: "However, while the outlook is positive, I believe house prices are actually likely to fluctuate over the next 12 to 18 months as both negative and positive economic indicators feed in."
"In Scotland, we have an above-UK-average number of public sector staff, and this means that the current budget tightening in that sector is likely to slow down market growth."
He also said: "In the long run, I believe we will see further increases in Scottish house prices. We have a historic shortage of housing stock that has been made worse by the credit crunch, and once the banks start to ease their lending criteria and make it easier to borrow money we will see more people entering the market."
Housing and communications minister Alex Niel said: "We are cautiously optimistic about the Scottish housing market, and we are continuing to do all we can to build more affordable homes and support construction jobs."