A report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has claimed that a growing number of Scots are putting their homes onto the property market, with “positivity” seen across the country. Last month, 48% more surveyors reported increases rather than decreases in new instructions – up from 24% in July; but 73% more surveyors reported growing numbers of enquiries from potential buyers meaning that there’s an imbalance between supply and demand.
Robert Carroll of Mov8
Looking ahead, a growing number of 43% more surveyors said they expected to see price growth in Scotland over the next three months. As director Sarah Speirs explained, “we are starting to see more people return to the housing market. There are buyers out there and prices are edging upwards. It is important, however, that prices do not rise to such an extent that they become unaffordable.”
That view is shared by Robert Carroll of the Edinburgh-based solicitors and estate agents, Mov8. “Over the past year,” he said, “we have seen a steady incline in buyers coming to market so our findings are in line with the latest RICs report. We are seeing more properties selling in a far shorter time scale than we have for years, which is fantastic news, but there is still not enough to cope with buyer demand. We are coming into a time of year where traditionally we see more buyers come to the market. Let’s hope that more sellers will take advantage of this so that the demand can be met.”