Demand in the Scottish housing market remained steady during April, with a net balance of 23% of respondents reporting an increase in new buyer enquiries, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey.
The UK-wide market is continuing to suffer from high demand coupled with a lack of new houses coming onto the market, which is apparently leading to a constrained property market overall.
Interestingly however, this problem does not seem to be as apparent in Scotland. While respondents across nine UK regions reported declines in new property for sale coming onto the market, Scotland had a more positive April, with a net balance of 12% more respondents reporting an increase in new instructions.
Significantly, there now appears to be a broadening out of the recovery away from London, with increasingly upbeat price responses likely across the country going forward. In Scotland 46% more chartered surveyors predict prices over the next three months will rise rather than fall, and by comparison 49% more respondents in London conveyed similar expectations.
“House prices in general look set to remain firmly on the upward trend, however, the critical issue for the market remains the lack of second hand supply, despite a slight increase in April,” commented Sarah Speirs, Director RICS Scotland. “It is too early to conclude whether this will undermine the positive trend in transactions volumes, but clearly the absence of properties to buy will ultimately be a factor in influencing the ability of people to move homes.”
“That said, despite the disappointing trend in instructions, a net balance of 45% of surveyors expect to see sales levels increase as we head into the summer,” she added.
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