Report on the Scottish Property Market
Scottish solicitors report an upturn in the Scottish Housing Market
Solicitor Property Centres in Scotland report that activity levels throughout the region have increased over the last 3 months. Solicitor estate agents, who make up the membership of the various SPCs, were responsible for property sales worth over 2 billion in the first six months of 2013 with nearly 12,000 homes changing hands during that period.
Peter Ryder, chairman of SPC Scotland, commented, “At a time when the Scottish market is showing promising signs of recovery these figures are extremely impressive and reinforce the vital role solicitors play in the selling of property throughout the country. All the property centres which are part of the SPC Scotland network are reporting an upturn in business over the last three months. Some properties are selling within four weeks of going onto the market and closing dates are now beginning to re-appear.”
“The general mood throughout Scotland appears to be more optimistic, with the hope that the recent improvements will continue throughout the rest of 2013. The health of the property market should be measured in terms of the number of property sales rather than average house prices. From a volume perspective the signs are promising”
Not surprisingly Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife and Aberdeen lead the way reporting a significant upturn in activity over the last 3 months. ESPC report that the number of homes sold was at its highest level for five years.
GSPC also report signs of recovery with selling times falling and sales up by almost a third on the same time last year.
Dundee and Angus also note an improving market with the number of properties now under offer at the highest level since 2008.
Properties in the Highlands continue to perform well with an increase in sales of 11% in the second quarter of 2013.
Perth and the Borders show strong increases of 22% with the Dumfries and Galloway region showing
up well with a 13% increase.
Peter Ryder commented, “Sellers are now being more realistic with the offers they are accepting, combined with the positive impact of the various lending initiatives and the increase in First Time Buyers we are hopeful that the improvement will continue.”
