Glasgow Solicitors Blog from The GLP

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.

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.

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.

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.

The number of homes going on the market for sale in Scotland rose slightly in November despite the lead up to Christmas usually being a quiet time for the housing market.

Houses built in Scotland before 1919 have seen the largest surge in prices over the past 25 years, according to new research from Bank of Scotland. Properties built before the end of the First World War have risen by an average of 528% - equivalent to £462 per month - from £26,264 in 1986 to £165,002 in 2011. This is significantly more than the average house price increase for all properties of 359% (£366 per month).

According to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland, in the three months ending October 2011, the quarterly price index for the average domestic property in Scotland rose by 1.7% – the first quarterly rise following three consecutive quarterly falls. However, on an annual, underlying basis, Scottish house prices have fallen by 2.9%.

Recent statistics published by Registers of Scotland have shown that the average price of a residential property in Scotland decreased by 0.2% during the second quarter (July to September) of the financial year 2011/12 compared with the same period the previous year. The average price of a residential property for this quarter was £163,091.

The number of property sales worth at least a million pounds has risen to its highest level since the peak of the housing market in Scotland in 2008, according to new research by Bank of Scotland.

House prices in Scottish cities have, on average, doubled since 2001, according to Bank of Scotland research. Four of the ten UK cities that recorded the highest rises in house prices over the last ten years are in Scotland - Inverness (148%), Aberdeen (116%), Dundee (106%) and Edinburgh (93%).

Overall lending for house purchase rose by both volume and value in July compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The value increased from £6.9 billion to £7.3 billion and the volume from 47,800 to 48,800. Both were at their highest since last August, though lower than July 2010.

The portion of disposable earnings devoted to mortgage payments – a key affordability measure – is at its most favourable for 12 years, according to new Halifax research.

House purchase lending in Scotland rose by more than the UK as a whole in the second quarter of 2011, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Recent figures show that more current sellers have reduced the asking price of their home than at any time in the last year. Two in five (38.6%) of all properties currently for sale in Britain have had their asking prices reduced at least once since coming onto the market, up from 37% three months ago, and well ahead of the 32% one year ago.

Over three quarters of towns and cities across Scotland are affordable for first-time buyers (FTBs), according to the latest Bank of Scotland First Time Buyer Review.