Glasgow Solicitors Blog from The GLP

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%).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scottish sellers returned to the housing market in September, hoping for an autumn sale says the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey.