Scotland Bucks The Trend For Property Sales
A property website announced yesterday that the length of time that properties stay on the market in the UK has increased dramatically since the start of the year.
Globrix, a leading property website, have found what seems to be a clear link between this year’s drop in house prices and the length of time that properties are staying on the market.
At the beginning of 2008 approx 25% of properties did not sell after a period of 90 days, but this has now risen sharply to 53%. This is in line with Halifax’s announcement that prices have fallen by at least 11% in the same time period.
Globrix expect this trend to continue, and possibly worsen, as consumers struggle to secure mortgages. This, combined with the desire to ‘sit tight’ and see how the market develops in the future will only result in this trend developing further. This means that more and more properties will fail to sell over long periods.
Wales is faced with the most stagnant property market in the UK at present, with nearly 65% of homes currently on the market failing to sell within 90 days. The climate seems much brighter in Scotland though, where a relatively low 34% of houses are remaining on the market. This is just a 15% increase since the start of the year, and is very positive considering the current conditions.
The government is keen to prevent as many house repossessions and property evictions as possible and, in order to try and stop the market from coming to a complete stand still, have introduced a variety of measures.
The temporary changes to stamp duty have attracted an array of criticism and probably is the most publicised measure that the government has taken. However, Halifax building society has spoken out in support of the action, believing that this will benefit buyers in all regions, but most notably in the South East.
