Scottish house prices fell to £145,860, although this was a monthly increase of 0.1% on January’s figure ending Scotland’s four month run of declining house prices.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “The panic to beat the stamp duty deadline was not the only factor behind the recovery in February. Banks and building societies had been tentatively increasing their lending to lower income borrowers and introducing more mortgages which require smaller deposits.
“This has gone some way to banishing the concern that the increase in activity in February was largely artificial and that prices will fall away again as the rush to beat the tax break subsides.
“Broadly speaking, mortgages have become more affordable than they’ve been at any point since the downturn, which should soften the blow of the stamp duty holiday ending. Demand is still healthy, despite tepid economic growth, and that should help support house prices.”
Sexton however added that in the longer-term the outlook was much murkier.
“The fortunes of the housing market remain inexorably tied to fallout from the European financial crisis which could hinder banks and building societies’ ability to satisfy the high demand for mortgages.
“And the national average price may be masking more worrying, and volatile, regional disparities. If you delve beneath the headline figures, it is clear the housing market is still suffering in the majority of local authority areas. Prices actually fell in two-thirds of all localities in February, highlighting that the recovery of house prices is still on dicey ground.”
