The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Will housing market frenzy keep going?
We asked six estate agents in Courier Country to predict what we can expect from house prices in 2022.
Last year saw demand outweigh supply and house prices rose by around 10% as people have looked for bigger houses with work-from-home space and gardens.
Particularly popular areas have been coastal districts such as St Andrews and the East Neuk in Fife, and Carnoustie and Monifieth in Angus.
The west end of Dundee, Broughty Ferry and Perth have seen property regularly go for at least 10% over the asking price.
Going into 2022, local estate agents agree prices will continue to rise, but opinion is divided on whether the housing market frenzy will carry on.
Peter Ryder, managing director of the estate agency operation at Thorntons, expects the new year to start with a bang.
He said: “We have a record number of clients on our mailing list, so buyer demand is definitely there. We will see the property market beginning to return to some sort of normality, with far more properties coming to the market.”
At RSB Lindsays in Dundee, sellers are already lined up to put their house on the market this month.
Partner Chris Todd is expecting a busy, buoyant and competitive housing market across Tayside.
“But it will be a little cooler than we have been experiencing – something closer to pre-pandemic levels, rather than the explosion we have witnessed since the aftermath of lockdown restrictions being eased in the summer of 2020,” he added.
With continuing Covid-19 uncertainty, Lindsay Darroch, head of Gilson Gray’s Dundee office, expects 2022 to be similar to 2021.
As many won’t put their house on the market until they can buy somewhere better, demand will remain higher than supply.
“I hope developers will step up to the plate and release more stock on to the market,” he said. “This will be the grease that oils the housing market wheel.”
Blackadders property services director Martin Paterson also hopes to see more houses come to market this year.
He said: “Being a seller’s market, the lack of housing stock is causing a back-up of potential buyers who are sitting on the fence waiting for properties to come to the market. Hopefully during 2022 we will see more stock come on to the market and subsequently more flexibility in availability.”
In Perthshire, Possible director Gary Robertson thinks the strong market conditions will continue for even longer due to desirable rural locations.
He said: “There will be a busy start to the year and things will continue as they did throughout 2021.”
Across the board, the estate agents believe we will see a price increase.
Jim Parker, managing director of Fife Properties, said: “As interest rates are so low, people are turning to property to maximise their returns. Property in Fife has gone up over 200% in the last 20 years.”