THE VALUE of a detached house in Scotland has gone up by more than £120,000 in the past 10 years, as growth during the boom years vastly outstripped the drop in house prices seen since the property crash five years ago.
New figures from the Bank of Scotland show the value of a detached property increased by an average of £815 per month over the past decade, the largest increase in cash terms compared to any other property types.
This represents a rise of almost 70% since 2002, with the average price paid for a stand-alone home increasing from £98,000 to £238,111 a decade later.
During the same period, the average price of a terraced house grew by 85%, from £52,671 to £114,921, while semi-detached homes value went up by 82%, from £62,514 to £139,017.
Further down the growth ladder come flats, where prices increased by 75% from £47,781 to £111,602 and bungalows, up from £70,679 to £171,172.
Michael Luck, managing director of Slater Hogg and Howison, said: "The property market has always had, and always will have, peaks and troughs. People get upset about short-term drops in value, but if they can hold on and not sell for less than they paid the chances are the value will come back.
"What this report shows is that over a 10-year period property remains a great investment. Yes, house prices have gone down in recent years – but overall there have been substantial increases."
The survey shows the value of all property types has decreased in the past few years.
However, according to the Bank of Scotland figures, detached homes have weathered the economic storm better than other types, with the average price falling by just 9% since 2007. This compares with a 16% decline in the average price of a semi-detached house, and a 17% fall in the price of bungalows. Terraced houses, down 27% and flats, which have fallen by 23% on average, have been the worst performers.
Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland, said: "The prices of those property types in Scotland that are less reliant on first-time buyers, such as detached homes, have been more resilient since the financial crisis in 2007. Nevertheless, prices of all property types in Scotland have fallen over the past five years with the biggest declines for flats and terraced homes.
"These types are particularly popular with first-time buyers and their sharper price falls probably reflect the difficulties those looking to enter the market for the first time have been facing."
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "One benefit of the decline in prices has been that flats and terraced houses can now typically be bought for less than £100,000 in some parts of the country. This is a far cry from five years ago when little was available below this price."
Andrew Smith, partner at Strutt and Parker, said some areas had bucked the trend.
He said: "We find there's large variations across Scotland. In some areas there has been no real fall in house prices. Aberdeen, for example, has proven resilient. And in other areas, such as Edinburgh, flats have remained popular.
"In the Old Town they have performed as well as houses in terms of retaining their value."
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