Amid the concerns of Scottish house prices falling during the past three months, a survey suggests that consumer confidence has received a marginal boost, BBC News has reported.
Lloyds TSB?s house price monitor recorded a 4.3 per cent fall in prices for the quarter, which is a 2 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter. April saw a rise in housing prices, even though from January to March the prices fell.
Although the number of homes sold rose in March and April, the annual fall was 35 per cent and semi-detached properties sales were down by 28 per cent. Flats have seen the worst fall, with 35 per cent fewer purchases than recorded last year.
It?s suggested that the fall in house prices has brought the average cost of a home in Scotland to ?148,990.
Dundee and the north of Scotland saw the sharpest drop in prices since the start of the year, with 17.5 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Only Aberdeen escaped any severe drops. The only places that saw any rise in house prices were Fife, Perth and Tayside, which had a 9.6 per cent increase.
Lloyds TSB Scotland chief economist Professor Donald MacRae believed that Scottish economy was somehow managing to avoid a ?precipitous collapse?, and said: ?Consumer confidence has fallen and claimant unemployment has risen. However, there is evidence of consumer confidence marginally improving while retail sales continue to increase on an annual basis.?
?The cost of borrowing has reduced for many mortgage holders while there has been a slow but perceptible increase in the level of mortgage availability for first-time buyers.?
