Scottish Property News

Scottish housing market in heavy slump

Official government figures also show the average price of a residential property across the country for the first three months of 2009 is down 6.6per cent on the same period last year and has decreased by just short of 9per cent since the autumn.

Properties at the top end of the market have taken the biggest knock, an indication the recession is spreading more into professional and managerial classes than previous slumps.

Although flat owners are perceived as the biggest losers, the figures show that since December the combined value of detached properties has fallen most - by almost GBP700m.

Detached properties also showed the largest fall in price at 9per cent, while terraced properties showed the smallest fall at 4.7per cent when compared with the same period last year for Scotland.

The Inverclyde area had the highest year-on-year decrease, down almost one-quarter.

In Glasgow prices fell by more than 13per cent. The affluent area just south of the city saw average prices for detached homes decreasing by 28.5per cent to GBP272,362.

The figures, released yesterday by Registers of Scotland show that the average house price between January and March was GBP140,318, compared with GBP150,255 the previous year.

Although prices are still highest in Edinburgh, they too are down 10.1per cent on the same period last year to an average of GBP187,289. The total value of sales in the capital in the first three months of 2009 was GBP1.6bn, down 59.9per cent over the same period last year and 44per cent on the previous quarter.

Only Angus, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Moray and the Orkneys have shown increases in average property prices.