2017 in Review: the Scottish Property Market
While we look back at 2017 we can all agree it has been an unprecedented year in terms of general context. The Scottish property market, however, has proven to be more resilient than ever, continually demonstrating positive signs of growth.
In this post, Clyde Property takes a look back at our top stories of 2017, as well as some recent developments within the Scottish property sector.
Scotland house prices increase while other areas falter
As we reported earlier this year, Scotland’s property market has remained resilient and in growth, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Its July 2017 RICS Residential Market Survey stated that Scotland as a region continued to perform strongly, with areas down south, including London and south-east England, dragging down average house price growth.
Furthermore, according to the survey, more than 20% of respondents reported a growth in property prices during the three months to July 2017 – with many at the time foreseeing further price increases, indicating strong consumer confidence in the Scottish property market.
Continued growth for Scottish property market
Another positive report from this year came from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which revealed that more people bought property in Scotland in the second quarter of 2017 than in any quarter since 2007.
At the time (August this year), the report revealed that home buyers borrowing increased by 35% quarter on quarter and 18% year on year to £2.5 billion.
One of the more notable figures, however, to come out of the CML report was the affordability in Scotland for first-time buyers taking their first step on to the property ladder.
According to the report, first-time buyers took out 9,500 loans and borrowed £1.1bn in the second quarter of 2017 – up 29% on Q1 of 2017; a rise of 17% over Q2 in 2016.
Carol Anderson, Chair, UK Finance Scotland Mortgage Committee, commented at the time that first-time buyers have been a “key driver” behind the 24 months of year on year growth in Scotland, which coupled with Government incentives and low interest rates has bolstered Scotland’s property sector.
First-time buyers paying record prices to get on the ladder
According to high street bank Halifax, this year saw first-time buyers pay a record breaking amount to get on to the property ladder – with the average coming in at £207,693 across the UK.
The number of first-time buyers reached an estimated 162,704 in the first six months of this year – which was only 15% below the peak of the last boom (2006, 190,000), according to the Halifax First Time Buyer Review.
Better yet, the report found that Scotland is home to the most affordable Local Authority District (LAD) – with Stirling coming in at number one, and six other Scottish LAD’s making it into the top 10 (Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, and North Lanarkshire).
More growth going forward?
Scotland will be at the fore of property price growth over the next five years, according to Barclay’s UK Property Indicator. It found that Glasgow suburbs, including East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire are the among the top contenders for impressive price growth – with both expected to benefit from a 23.8% and 22.5% respective rise in house prices over the next five years.
If you are looking at ways of navigating the waters of the property market in 2018 and need impartial advice, please contact your local Clyde Property branch today!
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award winning estate and letting agent with 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.
