According to an article on the Scotsman.com website, the Scottish housing market is recovering, albeit at a slower place than the general UK market. Hopeful signs began during the last quarter of 2009, when house prices rose by 4 per cent from the previous quarter.
In comparison, the house price jump was 9 per cent for the same period in the whole UK, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Also, when compared with the same period in 2008, Scotland?s rise in mortgage loans was only 22 per cent, as opposed to the UK?s 62 per cent.
Nevertheless, the signs of recovery in Scotland are persistent, even if slow. Compared with the first quarter of 2009, last quarter mortgage loans almost doubled in the country.
In addition, the Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB has shown an average increase of home prices to ?160,074 for the three months up to 31 January 2010, according to a BBC News report. On the other hand, the 2008 price and lending statistics were much more favourable than those for 2009, with Scotland mortgages experiencing a fall of 23 per cent when compared with the whole of 2008.
According to the CML, there were 47,000 loans for house purchases during 2009, the lowest number recorded in 16 years of data collection.
The policy consultant for CML Scotland, Kennedy Foster, said: ?We do not anticipate an increase in lending activity immediately.? Hope remains though. Mr Foster also said that there is likely to be an increase in activity later in 2010, if and when market conditions improve.
