This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Latest data from Your Move has indicated that property prices in Scotland have recovered to maintain an annual growth rate of 4%. This is the largest growth rate since May 2015.
The report shows that prices slowed slightly in the lead up to the EU referendum vote. In addition, the most recent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey indicates that new buyer enquiries and new vendor instructions were also down.
Trends
Your Move thinks that this flattening of the market is a result of common seasonal trends. June often sees a slowdown in activity in the school holidays, but the fundamentals of the market remains strong.
An average property north of the border was worth £170,404 in June, 0.97% greater than the start of the year. What’s more, the Index shows that house prices and transactions were boosted in the second quarter of the year, with buyers looking to complete before the 3% increase on ‘second’ and investment properties.
In March, transactions were nearly 100% higher than they were in February, the largest peak since November 2007.
Property prices in Scotland recovering
Distortion
Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said, ‘June was the first month that the spike in house prices as a result of the 2015 LBTT changes dropped out of the annual figures. This previous distortion in property prices goes some way to explaining the seemingly significant annual price increase we saw this June. Whilst market sentiment remains strong, with continued demand from both buyers and sellers, it will be interesting to watch how potential Brexit implications play into transaction and price figures over the coming months.’[1]
‘Long term, the outlook for the housing market looks favourable. However, with housing demand continuing to vastly outstrip supply, it is important that we see a concerted focus on building new property to ensure there are enough homes for potential buyers across the country,’ she added.[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/scottish-house-prices-bounce-back.html
