According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors we are seeing sellers put-off bringing their homes to market until current lockdown restrictions begin to lift.
It’s the second month in a row that the number of new buyer enquiries have fallen in Scotland. This is coupled with a lower number of properties being listed in Scotland for a fourth month in a row. Overall, this lack of demand from buyers has led to fewer agreed sales for a second consecutive month. Commentators have once again cited lockdown restrictions as the reason for this.
In the same report (February UK Residential Market Survey) they produced a more promising prediction that sales activity is expected to rise in the next three months.
The ‘near term sales expectations’ moved into positive territory though with the expectation amongst responders to be that sales activity to rise in the three months ahead. This represents the strongest market reading since July of last year.
Looking at house price growth though, a +38% net balance of respondents in Scotland reported an increase in prices in February, even if sales volumes had decreased overall. This shows that those sellers brave enough to come to market in the latest lockdown have really been rewarded for doing so.
That said, the expectation is for house prices in Scotland to continue to grow even as supply increases, really positive signs for the market more generally.
