Despite trillions of dollars wiped from global stock markets and fears of a double-dip recession, a leading figure of Tayside’s property market has voiced optimism for local homeowners looking to sell up.
Peter Ryder, manager of Tayside Solicitors Property Centre (TSPC), believes house prices will increase over the next year, even with the economic turmoil that erupted last week.
However he added that he expects the effects of the financial slump to be felt in the industry.
Mr Ryder said, “I would expect sales numbers to be very similar to last year.
“Property prices should also remain constant providing the current economic problems do not affect the banks ability to lend.”
He added, “We would still expect property prices to increase slightly next year, however due to the turmoil within the markets it may be later than our previous quarter one prediction.
“With the recent measures implemented by the government the UK is better placed than most to avoid another recession.”
For the first time in its history the US lost its AAA rating last Friday having a profound impact on Asian stocks after investors lost confidence.
Standard & Poor took the decision to downgrade the US to AA+ due to its concerns over the size of the country’s budget deficit.’Sustained activity’This has had a seismic impact on the global markets with the Dax losing about 13% of its value, the FTSE 100 dropping 10% and the Dow ending last week 5.8% lower.
With housing markets very reactive to global finances there are fears it will be among the first sectors to feel the squeeze of the latest downturn.
But even with this bleak outlook the Solicitors Property Centres (SPC) Scotland has revealed that the housing market has seen over £2 billion worth of property sold since the start of the year despite the UK housing market overall experiencing one of its most stagnant periods.
The industry body that represents the 11 independent Solicitor Property Centres operating throughout Scotland highlights that from the beginning of January to the end of June 2011 there were over 12,000 properties sold.
The picture is particularly favourable in Dundee and Angus with well over 600 homes sold over the last three months.
SPC Scotland chairman Malcolm Cannon said, “This is a huge number of properties and a significant amount of money.
“These figures clearly indicate that the Scottish housing market is continuing to function.”
He added, “While there is no denying the levels are below those seen prior to the credit crunch, it’s clear that there is sustained activity especially where sellers are setting realistic asking prices and are open to negotiation.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user wwworks.