CONFIDENCE is returning to the housing market after official figures revealed a sharp rise in the number of Scottish properties changing hands.
Fresh statistics from the Registers of Scotland show that house sales are now at their highest level for five years, with 24,274 homes sold between July and September.
The number of sales has jumped by 22.5% compared to same time last year, and the average house price across Scotland has increased by 1.5% to its current figure of £161,748.
During the last three months, property values in Glasgow rose by 6.5% compared to the previous quarter, meaning the average home is now worth £132,547. Much of the growth has been driven by an increase in residential sales of almost 20% compared with the same quarter last year.
The highest priced properties during the period covered by the report were found in the city of Edinburgh, where the average home changed hands for £222,759.
Aberdeen city, which has weathered the housing slump better than other areas thanks to the oil boom, recorded the highest percentage rise in prices on the mainland, with values up 9.9% compared to the same period last year.
Overall, the biggest winners are homeowners on the Shetland Islands, where property values have risen by more than one-quarter since last year.
Other areas where house prices have risen by more than the average in the last 12 months include South Ayrshire, where property values have risen by 6.7% in the last 12 months, The Scottish Borders were up by 6.4%, and in Angus house prices were 5.1% higher than they were a year ago.
However, double digit falls were recorded in Clackmannanshire (11.4%) and the Orkney Islands (10.1%) during the last 12 months.
The number of homes passing through the market has now grown during each of the last four quarters and experts expect the trend to continue.
With the effects of the economic downturn now easing, the housing market has also been boosted by the introduction of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, which enables first-time buyers to put down a deposit of 5% in return for taking out a shared equity loan.
Dr John Boyle, director of research at Rettie & Co, said the housing market in Scotland was turning the corner.
He added: “The sharp rise in activity is more than a blip as the fundamentals are now in place to ensure a full recovery, with improving economic activity levels, consumer sentiment, bank lending and new build activity helping to raise the market.
“First-time buyers are now returning to the market in larger numbers, a major factor in getting the market moving at all levels. This is also evidenced by our own figures. For example our agreed sales in Edinburgh are 50% up on the year to date. Stable price levels are helping the market to recover.”
Andrew Rettie, a partner at Strutt & Parker’s Edinburgh office, said: “We have really noticed that in the past few months properties of all types across Scotland have been selling more quickly and quite often for over the home report value.
“This covers new build developments in Edinburgh to farms and estates from the Borders to the north of Scotland.
“Not only are sales looking healthy but a recent survey carried out by the Halifax saw a new high of seven in 10 people in Britain thinking that house prices will rise in the coming months. Confidence has definitely returned to the market”.
Kenny Crawford, Registers of Scotland’s Commercial Services Director, added: “This quarter’s figures are one of the strongest indicators yet of a revitalised Scottish property market.
“This is the fourth consecutive quarter volumes have increased, maintaining the upward trend. There has also been a significant rise in the total value of property sales. Between July and September, the residential market was worth £3.92 billion – an increase of 24.4% on the previous year.
“Looking at the property type volumes, detached, semi detached, flat and terraced properties all showed an increase in market value of residential sales, with Flatted properties showing the biggest increase at 25.7%.”
Source: Herald Scotland