The latest UK Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed that housing market activity in Scotland was generally flat in February, as a shortage of properties becoming available for sale continued to result in an increasing number of potential new buyers being thwarted.
The number of properties coming onto the market (instructions to sell) failed to increase again in February, according to the survey, continuing a constrained supply trend that has been evident since 2015. As a result, newly agreed sales were flat last month, despite a rising number of new buyer enquiries.
Due to this gap between demand and availability, average house prices rose again, with a net balance of +31% of Scottish surveyors reporting increased values in the latest survey. This was significantly above the UK average and one of the highest readings of the UK nations and regions.
However, surveyors in Scotland expressed optimism about the short-term outlook for activity in the market as we move into the spring months. A net balance of +39% of respondents expect the number of sales to increase in the three months ahead, from their low base, with anecdotal evidence suggesting that surveyors expect more potential vendors to bring their properties to the market when the weather improves.
“Surveyors have continued to report that a lack of supply is both constraining activity in the market and leading to prices being pushed upwards,” commented Gail Hunter, RICS Director in Scotland. “However, looking ahead, there is an anticipation that this situation will improve in the spring months, with more properties becoming available and the backlog of potential buyers potentially easing. The expectation is that if the supply side improves, activity should increase and the upward pressure on prices should ease somewhat.”
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