Scotland’ s house prices predicted to remain stable

ATayside property expert believes Scotland is more insulated from house price volatility than south of the border.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has warned of a weakening of the property market as buyer caution increases.

Mortgage rates have soared in the last two months and the Bank of England increased its base rate from 2.25% to 3% a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, it is harder for first time buyers to save a deposit during the costof-living crisis.

All signs point to a fall in UK property prices, with Lloyds Bank predicting a 7.9% fall – with a worst case scenario of 18%.

However, estate agent Peter Ryder, managing director of the Thorntons Property Services, believes Scotland’s housing market could prove more resilient than in England.

He said: “The property market in Scotland is less volatile regarding house price stalls and falls when compared to the south.

“Around 50% of all buyers are either cash buyers or take out mortgages of less than 50%. Even with the increase in rates they will still be able to afford to buy property.

“Just over a fifth, of buyers get mortgages between 50% and 75% loan to value while about a quarter of buyers get mortgages between 75% to 90% loan to value.”

Borrowing costs have fallen since Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reversed almost all the tax giveaways of his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng. A month ago rates were around 6%.

Mr Hunt has made keeping borrowing costs low one of his key priorities as he prepares to give his first budget today.

Mr Ryder adds: “Rates are expected to settle around 4.5% to 5%. This is less than was expected a few weeks ago.

“All lending institutions are in a much stronger financial position compared to a decade ago and have money to lend.”

He is seeing fewer offers above asking price but said that people still want to move.

“This means some potential buyers who left the market due to being outbid will re-enter and try to secure a property around the home report value,” he predicts.

“The market is currently in a period of readjusting, but we still have plenty of motivated buyers out there who will return to the market once the government have demonstrated they have the economy back under control.”

“We still have plenty of motivated buyers out there...

CONTINUED STRENGTH: Estate agent Peter Ryder is confident Scotland’s property market will remain positive.