Sharp fall in property prices around Perth

Perth has seen the sharpest fall in house prices anywhere in the UK.

According to new figures from Halifax, over the past 12 months house prices have dropped by more than five per cent in the Fair City – with the average said to be worth £180,687.

This comes as the Perthshire Solicitors Property Centre (PSPC) reported a “stable”year for the property market across the whole of the region.

The organisation, which includes 21 solicitors and estate agents, said its end of year statistics show sales of just over £138.6m worth of homes - including plots and commercial properties - in the last year, with a top total of 773 properties.

Throughout 2017, the average sale price in Perthshire was £181,581, which is an increase on the average sale price in 2016 of around £10,000.

The average sale price for every type of property except semi-detached bungalows was up on the previous year’s figures.

Anne Begg, manager at PSPC, said: “When it comes to the property market, stability is key.

“Yes, we have seen previous years featuring more impressive sales figures but the situation is roughly on par with last year, which is a positive.

“On top of that, we have seen the welcome trend of many homes being snapped up much more quickly than usual, due to there being fewer properties in the mix. Insertions were a little down last year, which is disappointing but very much in line with national trends.”

She continued:“As we enter a new year, we would once again urge people to be realistic if putting their home up for sale. Using the home report valuation as a guide should lead to a fairly quick and satisfying sale.

“With life very much‘back to normal’ for most of us, it’s never too early to get the ball rolling. We are confident that 2018 will echo 2017 when it comes to stability, with no major change to the market.”

On top of both sets of statistics, the Bank of Scotland has said Perth and Kinross was one of the only regions in Scotland to not see a fall in the sale of million-pound properties.

The bank reported the sale of two homes in the county worth over £1m in the first half of 2017, making it one of the only regions not to be hit by the 35 per cent slump nationally.