Welcome to MOV8’s last Property Market Update of 2019!
2019 has been a year of political ups and downs whilst the property market in London and the South East has had a difficult time. The Scottish property market, in contrast, has shaken-off any political uncertainty and has continued to perform very strongly.
The Nationwide bank recently reported that the annual rate of house price growth across the UK remains “subdued”. However, Samuel Tombs, the Chief UK Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, reckons that the housing market in the UK is starting to benefit from recent lower mortgage rates.
Competition among mortgage lenders has seen the average quoted rate for a five-year, 75% loan-to-value mortgage drop to 1.74% in October 2019. This compares with 1.80% in September 2019. So competitive is the mortgage market that Tesco Bank and Sainsbury’s Bank pulling-out of the mortgage market altogether this year, citing increasing competition as the reason.
“With loan-to-income ratios at record highs, even small changes in mortgage rates have a big impact on affordability,” Mr Tombs says, adding that the number of homes for sale has also has contracted.
“All told, we look for year-over-year growth in house prices to continue to pick up over the coming months, reaching 2% (UK wide) by mid-2020.”
In Scotland, the average selling price of a house increased by 2.4% compared to last year. This brings the Glasgow average to £161,756 and Edinburgh to £260,693. The largest increase was seen in the Falkirk area, up 7.5% to £129,803.
With a General Election on the horizon and the Brexit deadline extended into 2020, what does 2020 have in store? Our prediction is that the Scottish property market will continue to perform strongly, as it has done throughout 2019. The supply of second-hand properties coming to the market will likely remain at a historic low, in line with the past few years. New build developments, by contrast, show little signs of slowing. This provides a good alternative for property buyers who need to move and are finding slim pickings in the second-hand market. From a seller’s perspective, all of this is positive news. With demand remaining high and property buyers in Scotland seemingly shrugging-off any political uncertainty, price continues to rise and selling times remain historically low.
Are you thinking of selling your property over the winter period? Have a look at our ‘Selling in Winter’ blog post to see why Winter is actually a brilliant time to sell a property!
Property Market in Numbers December 2019 infographic
Download our Property Market in Numbers December 2019 infographic.
We’re here to help
If you are thinking of selling your home or investment property, get in touch with us by calling 0345 646 0208 (Option 1) or by emailing [email protected] to organise a free valuation of your home or to get a full, transparent breakdown of the costs of selling your home.
You can also instantly book a free valuation appointment online by following this link.
If you are looking to buy a property as a home or investment, please call 0345 646 0208 (Option 2) or email purchasing@mov8realestate.com and we will be happy to help.
