CONFIDENCE is returning to the housing market after official figures revealed a sharp rise in the number of Scottish properties changing hands. Fresh statistics from the ­Registers of Scotland show that house sales are now at their highest level for five years, with 24,274 homes sold between July and September. The number of sales has […]

A MAJOR survey of social ­landlords has found that rent arrears have risen in some of Scotland’s poorest communities since the introduction of the so-called bedroom tax. New figures show that the amount owed to residential social landlords (RSLs) such as housing associations soared by nearly £800,000 after the welfare reform was introduced in April […]

AN increase in “super-commuters” who cash in on Scotland’s property market while continuing to work in London has been recorded by property experts. Tempted by large period homes, good schools and value for money, estate agents say a new breed of buyer is relocating the family home north of the Border while retaining lucrative jobs […]

ESTATE agents have said there are signs of an improving property market after they sold twice as many £1 million homes in Scotland’s capital city during the last 10 months as they did in the whole of last year. Rettie & Co said they have completed the 24th transaction of a property worth £1m or more […]

The recovery in the house market should boost Bellway’s results next week, while the same factor may lift BSkyB’s figures as households are more likely to change TV and phone provider when they move. Government efforts to pump up the housing market should ensure a year of surging profits and sales for housebuilder Bellway when […]

A LANDMARK £12 billion Help to Buy Scheme has prompted concerns of a house price bubble by creating more purchasers for fewer properties in Scotland. Britain’s state-backed lenders are bracing themselves for a flood of interest from the newly launched scheme which helps homebuyers obtain mortgages worth up to 95% of property values. But it […]

ESTATE agent and letting business Clyde Property is eyeing expansion and new office openings after a rise in profits and turnover. The property firm plans to open a Perth office in the first quarter of next year, as well as increasing the number of properties in its letting portfolio, by about 20%, to 3000. A […]

SCOTS homebuyers are to be helped on to the housing ladder with a new £220 million scheme under which the SNP Government will subsidise a 20% stake in purchases of new properties. The three-year shared-equity scheme comes after a UK house price surge of 5% last year, credited mainly to a rise of 10% in […]