Research shows property market surging in Argyll

THE HOUSING market in Argyll and Bute is buoyant with a significant rise in the number of properties changing hands.

According to new research from the Registers of Scotland (RoS), there was a jump of 24.5 per cent in the volume of sales in the area for April to June this year, the first quarter of the 2016/17 financial year, compared to the same period in 2015.

The figures show that 462 properties changed hands in the quarter, compared with 371 for the same time last year. The number also represented a 37.1 per cent surge over the January to March period this year, when 337 homes were sold.

According to the RoS data, the average price of a property in Argyll and Bute between April and June this year was £151,658, a slight dip of 0.2 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2015 but 2.9 per cent up on the £147,365 registered for January to March.

The RoS research also showed the average price of different house types in Argyll and Bute. From April to June 2016, a detached home fetched, on average, £213,808, a semi-detached £129,028, a terraced home £124,675 and a flat £104,630.

The total value of properties traded was up 24.3 per cent to £70,065,820 for the latest quarter, way ahead of the £ 56,353,776 total for the corresponding 2015 figure and 41.1 per cent up on the £49,661,991 for January to March.

The statistics were welcomed by Katie Lamont, director of property at Oban-based estate agency MacPhee and Partners, who said: ‘These figures are very encouraging and I’m pleased we have also seen an increase in the volume of property sales for the first quarter of 2016.

‘I had concerns that with the new Additional Dwelling Supplement, the market would slow down. However, the surge which we witnessed prior to April 1 2016 continues for the time being.

‘Unlike the RoS report, our figures from the average house sale price have increased from our first quarter this time last year.’