Glasgow Solicitors Blog from The GLP

House prices have more than doubled in three seaside towns on Scotland’s north-east coast since 2004, according to the latest research from Bank of Scotland.

Macduff and Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded the biggest rises over the past eight years with the average house price increasing in both by 123%. The average price in Macduff is now at £130,025 and £119,425 in Fraserburgh. Cove Bay in Aberdeen recorded the next largest rise with an increase of 105% during the same period.

A further 18 coastal towns recorded price increases of at least 50%. They include Montrose (82%), Campbeltown (80%), Peterhead and Banff (both 79%). Since 2004, the average house price in seaside towns rose by 36%; slightly lower than the 38% increase in the whole of Scotland.

There is a marked East-West divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns. Seven of the ten most expensive are on the eastern coastline. North Berwick is the most expensive seaside town in Scotland with an average house price of £309,676. St. Andrews is the second most expensive with an average price of £277,344, followed by Crail (£209,688) and Stonehaven (£197,530).

On the other hand, six of the ten least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. They include Greenock (£85,212), Girvan (£85,961), Irvine (£89,727) and Ardrossan (£91,052). However, the least expensive seaside town in Scotland is Buckhaven on the east coast with an average house price of £68,350.

Positive signals have emerged for the housing market in the first quarter of 2012 with a rise in the number of British homeowners who expect house prices to climb over the next six months.

According to the latest Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey, two out of three (67%) British homeowners are confident of house prices rising by the Autumn. This is the highest proportion of homeowners predicting property price growth since the first half of 2010 and in stark contrast to sentiment at the end of 2011 when only 55% of owners were predicting prices to climb.

In addition to the rise in overall confidence, homeowners are also more bullish now about how much they expect average house prices to rise over the next six months. At the end of 2011, owners expected prices in their local area to increase 2.2% on average. Over the last quarter this has risen to 3.9% - again, the highest price growth expectation in almost two years.

There has also been an improvement in sentiment towards mortgage financing with an increase in the number of property owners reporting that it is now easier to secure a mortgage than it was at the end of 2011. 17% of respondents believe mortgage availability has improved, up from 11% last quarter.

Million pound property sales have fallen to their lowest level since 2009, according to research by Bank of Scotland.

There were 132 property sales worth at least one million pounds in Scotland in 2011, a fall of 11% from 148 in 2010. This is the lowest number of sales since 2009 and more than double the percentage decline across the UK as a whole (-5%). In total, there are now an estimated 3,000 homes in Scotland worth at least one million pounds.

The 11% fall in million pound property sales in 2011 was almost double the fall in sales across the rest of the housing market. Overall, total home sales in Scotland fell by 6% from 74,747 in 2010 to 70,035 in 2011.

In Edinburgh in 2011, 61 homes were sold for at least one million pounds, accounting for 46% of all million pound sales in Scotland. This was substantially higher than anywhere else in Scotland and the second highest in Britain outside of the South East of England and London. Aberdeen City (13) recorded the second highest number of million pound sales in Scotland, followed by Glasgow (8).

Over the past year, Edinburgh (-13%) was the only one of these three Scottish cities to see a fall in million pound sales. Aberdeenshire and East Renfrewshire were among the other areas to experience a decrease in sales in Scotland.

People living in Scotland are becoming increasingly confident in the outlook for the housing market, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Housing Market Confidence tracker. One in three (33%) respondents predict that house prices will increase over the next year, higher than the proportion that believe house prices will fall (23%).

Lending to both first-time buyers and home movers increased in February with first-time buyers taking the bigger increase, according to figures released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Potential buyers continued to test the market during March as the stamp duty holiday finally came to an end, says the latest RICS UK Housing Market Survey.

Less than 0.5% of homes in Britain will be affected by the increase in the stamp duty rate for multi-million pound homes announced in the recent budget, according to research by Lloyds TSB.

Both house purchase and remortgage lending fell in January, according to new data released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

With 26 towns in the UK – including Perth and Dumfries - applying for city status as part of this year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Bank of Scotland has looked back at how house prices in cities have performed over the past 25 years.

Up to 6,000 first-time buyers and others aspiring to purchase a new build home are set to receive a boost, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment Alex Neil has revealed.

The Bank of Scotland has launched its annual ‘Second Stepper’ report which tracks the ongoing plight of first time sellers amid a challenging housing market in Scotland. The report reveals that home affordability for Second Steppers has become much less favourable and declining house prices have led to equity shortfalls for many.

Rochford in Essex and South Lakeland are the only two local authority districts in the UK where house prices are currently higher than they were in 2007, according to the latest research from Bank of Scotland. Aberdeenshire is the only local authority district in Scotland in the UK top 20, however with a 7% fall in average prices during 2007-2011.

The number of first-time buyers, who are currently exempt from paying stamp duty on properties up to £250.000, increased in December, according to data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 18,700 loans advanced, worth £2.3 billion, up 7% by volume and 10% by value, from November.

Nearly three in ten of those living in Scotland think that house prices will rise rather than fall in 2012, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Housing Market Confidence tracker. Around 28% of those questioned forecast that house prices across Scotland will increase over the next twelve months, more than the 24% that predict a price decline over the same period.

First time buyers looking to enter the property market should act immediately to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday currently in force and which is due to come to an end soon.The Glasgow Law Practice Conveyancing department confirms that the end of HMRC`s exemption of Stamp Duty for first time buyers up to £250,000 is closer than you think following clarification of the effective dates. We can still assist you in taking advantage of this exemption.

The number of houses sold in Scotland increased during the last quarter of 2011, but there was a fall in the number of flats sold. The average price for domestic properties dropped by 0.5% according to official statistics released by Registers of Scotland.

The National Association of Estate Agents has issued a reminder that exemption from Stamp Duty Land Tax for first time buyers is due to come to an end on Saturday 24th March 2012.

Mortgage payments for a new borrower in Scotland during the second half of 2011 were at their lowest as a proportion of disposable earnings for nine years, according to new Bank of Scotland research.

Falkirk experienced the biggest rise in house prices in Scotland – and the second biggest gain across the UK – in 2011, according to new research by Bank of Scotland. Based on Bank of Scotland's own house price data, the average selling price in Falkirk was 12% higher than in the previous year, increasing from £113,422 in 2010 to £126,548 in 2011.

Total net household property wealth for all private households in Great Britain dropped by over £131bn (3.7%) between 2006/08 and 2008/10 to £3,375 billion, according to a new chapter from the Wealth in Great Britain report, published by the Office for National Statistics. The report also shows that the average net property wealth of households fell from £204,000 to £195,000.