Price falls and slow recovery help Scots first time buyers

SCOTLAND experienced the biggest house price falls in the UK last year as the housing market recovery lagged behind that south of the Border, new research has claimed, writes Jeff Salway.

The average asking price in Scotland fell 11.1 per cent in 2009, taking the average value to 148,034, according to Findaproperty.com.

The average Scottish first-time buyer asking price is now 108,578, it added, with first-timers needing an average deposit of 26,752.

The prices being asked of first-time buyers across the UK remained almost unchanged in December.

Entry level homes for first-time buyers are cheaper now than they were a year ago, with a 3.9 per cent fall in 2009 taking the price of the average UK first-timer property down to 153,988. The decline in asking prices has contributed to an improvement in first-time buyer affordability, the report claimed.

Nigel Lewis, property Expert at FindaProperty.com, commented: "With relatively few properties put on the market towards year end, there's a dire need for more homes to be available to meet the clear demand from buyers, who I expect to be actively looking within the next month or two, particularly those who want to buy before the country is plunged into the uncertainty of a general election."

Lewis claimed that with a growing imbalance between supply and demand – which drove the modest recovery in prices last year – now would be a good time for sellers considering putting their home on the market to do so.