Scottish house prices slow down
February 16, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The top end of the Scottish housing market is showing signs of slowing down, according to Lloyds TSB.
The Bank’s Scotland House Price Monitor (SHPM) has highlighted that the market continues to grow, but has slowed down when compared to previous figures.
Looking at the three months leading to January 31st, the SHPM showed that the average house price rose by 3.3 per cent, well below the annual rise of 11 per cent.
The biggest annual rise can be seen in Aberdeen, where there was an 18 per cent increase. Although this is a large rise, it follows a slowdown in the spring of 2006.
The figures from Lloyds make good reading for those of you looking to take out a mortgage on a property in Scotland and, although overall prices appear to be falling, the Scottish market is still doing very well.
“The rate of increase of house prices in Scotland continues at a robust pace propelled by a favourable economic background and demand for houses exceeding the supply,” said professor Donald MacRae from Lloyds TSB Scotland.
“First time buyers are showing increased interest in the market. The Scottish economy is forecast to show growth of around 2.25 per cent in 2007.”
Looking at the slowing down of price increases on some Scottish properties, Mr MacRae said that this is just a natural trend.
“There is clear evidence of a slowdown in price increases at the higher end of the market,” he commented.
“Recent increases in interest rates will continue to moderate further house price rises from these high levels. The prospect for the Scottish housing market is a gentle slowdown in the rate of price increase.”
If you want to invest in a property it may be worth considering Scotland, where the average house price is around £147,763.
House prices rise by 9.9%
January 5, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
House prices in the UK rose by 9.9 per cent throughout 2006, according to the Halifax bank.
A report carried out by the bank shows that price inflation on properties in the country increased during the last 12 months.
Despite the overall rise, Halifax said that prices fell by one per cent in December, with some industry figures hopeful of a slowing down in the market.
“It remains too early to conclude that this indicates a genuine slowdown in the housing market,” said Halifax’s chief economist Martin Ellis.
“Overall, prices in the final quarter of 2006 were 4.2 per cent higher than in the previous quarter, marking the strongest quarterly rise since 2004 quarter two.”
Northern Ireland saw the biggest increases during 2006, with the average house price rising by 53 per cent.
Halifax’s report is based on figures from its own lending to customers but falls in line with other major lenders’ results.
Nationwide recently published a report into 2006 house prices and put the rate of inflation at 10.5 per cent.
Although Halifax says factors such as economic growth, rising employment and lack of supply will drive up house prices, the bank expects to see a slowdown in the coming year.
“Higher interest rates, greater pressure on household finances and subdued real earnings growth will… constrain housing demand,” said Mr Ellis. “We expect house prices to increase by four per cent in 2007.”
