Scottish House Prices Still Growing

A recent report has suggested that Scotland is the best place in the UK to buy property for investment. Scottish properties are continuing to rise in value, according to Halifax and this area of the country may hold some excellent property investment opportunities for canny property investors.

Property price inflation in Scotland is higher than anywhere else in the UK except London and Northern Ireland. Prices have risen by 0.7% in the past 3 months and are more than 14% higher than a year ago.

The Nationwide Building Societies house price index claims that Scottish house prices have risen by 2.5% in the last quarter and by 12% over the past 12 months.

Research from the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC) has concluded that house price inflation has gone up in September, climbing to 13% to 10.6% the previous month.

This is in contrast to property prices in some of the major UK towns and cities in England where property price increases have either stopped or in some places started to fall.

According to Leigh Bradnick of England Estates, an estate agent based in Birmingham, prices "are being cut by at least five per cent, and vendors are having to go lower still when finally negotiating a completion price".

He advised that property owners "are having to be very realistic about what their properties are worth".

However this is not the case everywhere as property prices in London and the Southwest they are continually rising which means that first time buyers and young people are finding it harder and harder to get onto the property ladder.

However the general ‘slowdown’ in property prices may not be a bad thing for savvy property investors and landlords. Properties can be bought cheaper and investors will be able to bargain harder as sellers have to be more realistic with what they can accept.