Double bounce for house sales

Scottish Building Society Chief Executive, Paul Denton, predicts Scotland's £18 billion housing market will have two bouncebacks after lockdown and he expects that prices will return to pre-Covid-19 levels.

The housing market has been hit by the lockdown, with people staying at home.

The Registers of Scotland closed, making property purchases and sales impossible.

Mr Denton said: “We are still open for business and we are starting to see signs that buyers are now thinking about life after the Covid-19 peak, with a rise in inquiries on purchase mortgages. And indeed, our staff are busy processing remortgages, even for those on a mortgage holiday. “Mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tech provide a good litmus test of the current state of the market.

"Normally, the ratio of purchase mortgages to remortgages is 55 per cent to 45 per cent.

"During Covid-19 we have seen that fall to as low as 20:80.

"Now we are seeing that figure edge up to around 30:70, nothing like before, but an indication of growing confidence.”