ONE-TIME Carbuncle Award nominee has been unveiled as Scotland’s unlikely new property hotspot following a record rise in house sales.
The number of homes being sold in the West Lothian towns of Bathgate, Broxburn, Livingston, Linlithgow and the surrounding areas shot up by 23.1% in the last quarter, 17% faster than the rest of Scotland.
The new figures – complied from Registers of Scotland (RoS) data – also show that the value of sales in the region rose by more than 30% to £148million over the same period.
Broxburn was nominated for the Carbuncle Award, an ironic prize recognising some of the ugliest places and architecture in Scotland, just three years ago.
Across the country, a total of 28,019 properties were submitted for registration between July and September, the highest volume of sales for any quarter since Q1 of 2008-09.
The City of Edinburgh was the largest overall market, with sales of over £805million for the quarter, an increase of 6.2% on the previous year.
West Lothian property expert Sean MacMillan, an associate at national solicitor estate agent Aberdein Considine, said the town and the region are becoming increasingly popular with househunters.
“It’s no real surprise that West Lothian continues its steady increase in both volume of property sales and in sale prices when considered in the wider context of the central belt housing market,” he said.
“Recent increases in house prices in Glasgow and more importantly Edinburgh has had a significant effect on the West Lothian market.
“Over a quarter of workers living in West Lothian work in Edinburgh."
He added: “Transport links from West Lothian to Edinburgh and indeed to Glasgow, Stirling and further afield have been improved significantly in the past five years and according to West Lothian Council statistics West Lothian residents are now within an hour’s drive of 60% of Scotland’s population and of 54% of all Scottish businesses.
“Substantial new-build developments are underway around the county, most notably in Winchburgh, Bathgate, Whitburn and East Calder, which will serve to further fuel the volume of sales heading into 2016 and beyond.”
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