HOUSE prices in Scotland have fallen for the second quarter in a row amid fears over the UK's exit from Europe, new research has claimed.
The Halifax House Price Index (HPI) has revealed that there were back-to-back declines in the average price of property during the both three-month periods leading to September, as the housing market cools in the wake of the Brexit decision.
Scotland has now replaced Northern Ireland at the foot of the HPI UK regional house price table, while London was the only other area of the UK to see where successive drops.
Overall, Halifax found that the average Scottish house price was around £150,000, with the gap between that and the average of £214,140 price tag on the average UK home at its biggest since 2005.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, who compile the HPI, said: “The UK’s vote to leave the EU has been accompanied by a clear cooling of the housing market.
"This time, it’s ‘Brexit’ rather than ‘Grexit’ that has caused anxiety to spike in the housing market, so the future trajectory of prices will be very much determined by which path the government decides to choose in taking the country away from the EU, and how bumpy the negotiating route is."
He added: “Any negative impact from Brexit worries will be mitigated by strong fundamentals, including a shortage of housing, high employment and record low interest rates, but IHS Markit’s base scenario is one whereby prices fall by 3 per cent in 2017."
Despite the gloomy picture painted for homeowners by the HPI, chartered surveyors have sounded a more positive note.
The latest survey of its members from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland (RICS) found that the number of surveyors reporting price rises had increased by a third on the previous month as different regions outperformed others.
The number of surveyors predicting future price rises also increased, with 14 per cent more saying there will be an upward curve during the next three months.
Thomas Baird, of Select Surveyors, Glasgow, said: “There was a slow-down in Home Report instructions for September, which is indicative of the lack of housing stock coming on to the market.
"Interest from new buyers in Scotland also fell over the month, with 16 per cent more respondents reporting a decrease in enquiries."
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, added: "The UK market does now appear to be settling down following the significant headwinds encountered through the spring and summer.
"Buyers do appear to be returning, albeit relatively slowly, but the big issue that continues to be highlighted by respondents is the lack of fresh stock on the market, which has been evident in Scotland over the last year.
"Although this is not a new story, it is a significant one having ramifications for both prices and the level of turnover.”
Meanwhile, separate research has found that the average brick sitting in a UK house is worth more than £47, based on the property's overall value.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), looking at the price and size of an average home, calculated that an average brick is worth £47.44.
Wide variations in property prices across the UK mean that each brick making up a typical London property is worth £121.08, while a single brick in a home in Glasgow is worth £22.55. One in Nottingham was said to be worth £27.19 and one in Liverpool is worth £25.87.
The research was carried out for Barclays Mortgages.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel