Edinburgh bucks trend as property prices and demand continue to fall

AT least one in four chartered surveyors in Scotland are reporting house prices falling rather than rising, according to a new survey.

• Demand for housing and house prices are falling rather than rising

• Survey says that properties are selling for around £15,000 less than the asking price

Almost one in three members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland also reported falls rather than increases in demand from would-be buyers last month. The same study found that demand in Scotland for new homes has been flat-lining or falling over the last few months.

The RICS said problems accessing mortgage finance, a lack of general consumer confidence and the school holiday period were all key factors. London, which has had strong interest from overseas buyers, is the only region where more surveyors

reported price rises than falls.

The UK-wide study found that the number of new sellers coming to market was in decline for the third month in a row.

The RICS said some 15.1 sales per surveyor were recorded over a three month period, the lowest figure seen since October last year.

And the new figures emerged the day after a separate survey found that houses in Scotland were being sold for almost 10 per cent less than their asking price.

The s1homes study warned sellers had to face a “reality gap” that properties were currently selling for around £15,000 less than the asking price, with the sole exception of Edinburgh, which is said to be “bucking the trend”.

The RICS said that the difficulties many buyers are having in getting a mortgage has contributed to the drop in transactions.

Sales are expected to pick up slightly in the next few months, but both prices and sales figures are likely to show a deterioration in the next year, the study found.

Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, said: “Despite the terrible weather seen in many parts of the county last month, a steady number of potential buyers still got out there to test the market.

“However, this didn’t result in a higher level of actual transactions. Fewer sellers are putting their homes up for sale and the ongoing problem of accessing affordable finance is not helping. If vendors want to sell their homes quickly, they will have to be realistic in their price expectations.”

A spokeswoman for the RICS in Scotland said: “Surveyors across Scotland are cautiously optimistic that transaction levels should improve over the next three months, with a net balance of 11 per cent more respondents predicting rises in activity.

“However, unsurprisingly, a more pessimistic outlook exists for future prices, as 27 per cent more surveyors expect prices to continue to fall rather than rise.”