Buying a house in Dundee is a “good longer-term investment” despite a national fall in prices, a housing expert has insisted.
George Solley, sales director at Thorntons property services, spoke in the wake of a survey by Lloyds TSB that showed a 3.7% drop in the average price paid for a house in Scotland in the last three months.
The bank said prices were now down almost to where they were in early 2007 and the number of sales remained at half their pre-recession level, although they were up on the low seen over the winter.
Mr Solley said Thorntons had seen a change in the mix of houses sold in Dundee over the last four years.
“The reduced number of units involved can create quite dramatic variations on a monthly or quarterly basis,” he said. “If we look at the change in mix of properties involved over the period concerned, we see new-build sales at a much lower level.”
The average price of a house sold through Thorntons in 2007 was £165,000 and that has fallen to £147,000.
Mr Solley said: “This is not due to a reduction in individual house prices, however. In 2007, Thorntons had larger number of new-build sales in their mix, where average prices were in excess of £200,000.
“Dundee has been identified as a good longer-term investment for those looking for property to buy.
“With two universities and Ninewells Hospital, we have a steady demand for housing in the city, as shown in last week’s report on house prices in the university cities in the UK where Dundee was placed third.”
Mr Solley said Dundee’s success during the more buoyant years of the property market had to be taken into consideration when drawing comparison with the Lloyds TSB figures.
The bank said the average house price in Scotland over the last quarter was £152,565.