🏡 House prices continue to rise with family homes the biggest winners
💷 Lending for First-Time buyers up 25% on 2020
💼 Nationwide introduce sub -1% five-year mortgage aimed at established owners
⏩ Scotland remains the fastest place to sell your home in the UK
The Scottish property market continued its strong form through June and July with house prices continuing to rise, and large family homes of 4+ beds or more remaining the most sought after as buyers continue to strive for greater square footage, more flexible accommodation, and take advantage of excellent mortgage rates.
Homes with 4+ beds have now seen prices grow by 6.7% in the first 6 months of the year, and have witnessed a 39% surge in sales over the same period. For the mass market 3-bed sector, it is a similar story with a 28% jump in sales over the same period with a price increase of 6.9%.
For the fourth consecutive month, 4+ bedroom properties coming to the market have set a new high for asking prices which now sits at £338,447 – that is a monthly increase of +0.7% and +6.7% year-to-date which equates to a £21,389 rise.
The biggest driver of price growth has been and continues to be, a shortfall in the volume of properties coming to the market matched with a buyer demand that sits 23% higher than this time last year and is up a staggering 80% on market conditions this time in 2017-19. Encouragingly, there is evidence that stock levels are beginning to return closer to ‘normal’ levels, something which is likely to be further fuelled by travel restrictions lifting and an impending end to Scotland’s national Covid restrictions.
First-time buyers remain the group in the strongest position as the flat and 2-bed market remains the slowest in terms of price growth. An annual change of +4% and an average national asking price of £207,386, are positive indicators that the market will remain receptive to First-time buyers going forward with affordability under control. Interestingly, lending for first-time buyers is also up by 25% on 2020, a clear indication that lenders are feeling confident about the UK’s economic outlook.
There is also inviting news for buyers with large deposits, Nationwide has just launched the first sub-1% five-year mortgage deal this month for those who only need to borrow up to 60% of the value of their home.
Scotland still remains the fastest place in the UK to sell your home, taking on average just 24 days. That is almost 50% quicker than the rest of the UK.
The outlook for the Scottish property market remains positive, the increase in the volume of properties coming to the market should eat into buyer demand which will, in turn, ease property price levels and create a more stable growth. As we move into August, we will get a better look at how the rest of the year will pan out, but confidence is high that things will stay strong.
