The number of homes coming on to the property market in Scotland has increased as recovery in the sector continues, according to chartered surveyors. A total of 44% more experts reported an increase in new instructions in December, the highest proportion in the UK, and demand also grew, with 55% more reporting a rise in […]

THE Scottish property market is making “solid progress on all fronts”, prompting renewed optimism for the year ahead, according to a report. A pick-up in house prices across the country, a swift rise in sales levels and continuing improvements in mortgage conditions are seeing the property market “power on ahead like a freight train”, the […]

PERSIMMON has announced it sold around 1100 homes in Scotland during 2013, which was slightly ahead of expectations. The house builder said continued strong trading towards the end of the year saw it end more than 29% ahead of the 850 units completed in 2012. The company had predicted, in November, that Scottish sales would […]

Overall Reality Gap narrows from 9% last quarter to 2% Average selling price is up by 6% Average asking price is down by 1% Flats and terraced houses continue to sell above asking prices, and semi-detached properties are now also selling above their asking price Detached houses continue to be unrealistically priced and on average […]

The recovery in the house market should boost Bellway’s results next week, while the same factor may lift BSkyB’s figures as households are more likely to change TV and phone provider when they move. Government efforts to pump up the housing market should ensure a year of surging profits and sales for housebuilder Bellway when […]

A LANDMARK £12 billion Help to Buy Scheme has prompted concerns of a house price bubble by creating more purchasers for fewer properties in Scotland. Britain’s state-backed lenders are bracing themselves for a flood of interest from the newly launched scheme which helps homebuyers obtain mortgages worth up to 95% of property values. But it […]

LEADING housebuilder Springfield Properties expects to see turnover and profits jump by 50% in its current financial year which began in June, as the housing market picks up in Scotland. The Elgin-based group owned by chairman Sandy Adam, the current ‘Scottish housebuilder of the year’, saw sales accelerate in the first half of 2013, up […]

Scots buying and selling homes in the future face higher fees and a more tortuous troublesome legal process unless plans by the Law Society of Scotland are withdrawn, experts say. The society next week ends its consultation on the introduction of mandatory separate legal representation for borrowers and lenders. That would mean two sets of […]

Today deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the Scottish Government’s decision to abolish the right of council tenants to buy the homes they rent at a discounted rate in Scotland. In 2011, the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme which was introduced in 1980 by Margaret Thatcher’s Government, was declared unavailable for new tenants and new social […]

Housebuilder CALA is reporting record profits and an acceleration of planning consent for housing developments. This will be pleasing news to the new owners who are planning for a return to the stock market. The company’s gross margins are up from 16.4% to 19% year on year, private completions are 4% higher at 695, and […]