The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
Beverley Brown
FINDINGS in the Halifax Buying vs Renting Review reveal that while monthly rental costs have increased by 10 per cent (equating to £821) in the past year, monthly buying costs increased by just one per cent (£753) during the same period. According to Halifax, the cost gap between owning a home and renting has widened over the year, although this obviously differs across the country. Property purchasers in London are on average £4,606 a year better off that those renting – however, Scotland takes third place behind the South East and East Anglia with a saving of £1,848 compared to renters. Halifax has committed to lending £10bn in 2021 to help people buy their first home.
ALLANWATER Homes plans to build a selection of three to five-bedroomed, energy efficient family homes at a new development in the North Lanarkshire village of Chryston. Aimed at professionals, re-sizers and families, the 68-home development includes several new fourbedroomed house types making a debut – one of which is the Fintry, chosen as the development’s first showhome. Added to the mix at Allanwater Chryston are top of the range five-bedroomed detached villas designed for larger families or those looking for extra space to use as an office, playroom, games room or gym.
Key features include solar panels across all house styles to reduce running costs, and an ‘allincluded’ specification rated to be one of the best in the industry. Prices at Allanwater Chryston will start from around £265,000 for four-bedroomed villas. Visit www.allanwaterhomes.co.uk
NEW data from ESPC shows a dramatic rise in the number of properties sold in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders during the first three months of 2021 – up 55.7 per cent compared to the previous year, while in Edinburgh alone, the sale volume increased by 72.6 per cent compared to last year. Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “The first three months of 2021 has seen a real spike in property sales compared to the previous year. This is to be expected given how busy the market was at the end of 2020, but the LBTT holiday which ended last month may also have contributed to increased sales.”