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The BIG question: What is my house worth?

What is my house worth?
This is the big question, and as Estate Agents, it is one we naturally get asked most frequently, but it is also quite a difficult question to answer, mainly as there are a number of ways of answering it. Let’s look at them in depth:

1. What the Home Report values it as.
This is generally the accepted de facto answer. We are blessed in this area that we have a number of excellent local surveyor firms who are generally excellent at valuing local properties, and the Chartered Surveyor who will carry out your Home Report will have based his or her valuation on a number of factors, and used their experience to factor in all pertinent attributes relating to the property..
…however, this is just one person’s opinion (albeit a very experienced and learned person’s opinion!) and it is inevitable that their thoughts will be influenced – for better and worse – by recent experience. Surveyors themselves state that their valuation is based on “what a normal person might pay in a normal situation” however we are dealing with real life where there is no such thing as ‘normal’!!
It is also worth stressing that a property’s value will be constantly changing due to market conditions, whereas a Home Report value is merely a snapshot in time.

2. What a similar property elsewhere sold for.
By identifying a house of similar size/design/layout etc. that has sold in recent times can give a good idea of the value of a property. However, the main flaw to this method is summed up by the old estate agency saying of “Location, Location, Location”, and so the location of the property will have such a large bearing on the value, that comparing values of similar properties elsewhere should only be used as a very loose indicator. A location will easily account for 10’s or 100’s of thousands of pounds of value of a property.

3. What the neighbouring property sold for.
This is a reasonable guide to any house price, and by comparing properties within close proximity, it will to some extent remove the element of variation that the location will place on a property’s value. However, it has been known for two identical properties on opposite sides of a certain street to have significantly different valuations. This is the fundamental flaw in the ‘valuations’ you will get from a property portal or a non-local agent. For example, it is often the case that houses on one side of a street will have fine open countryside or even sea views, whereas an identical house on the other side of the street looks onto more houses. Although less relevant here in the Highlands, this stark pricing difference can particularly be seen in areas where the catchment area for a desirable school may be bounded by the centreline of the street, and one house is within the catchment but the other is not!

This method can be supplemented by doing what is known as a ‘cost-walk’, whereby one takes the value of the similar property, adds or subtracts ‘value’ based on features (or lack thereof!), condition, etc etc. To illustrate (using approximate figures for guidance only):

Number 27 in ‘Anytown’ sold for £215,000, so what is number 22 worth?

Value of number 27………………………………………………………………………….£215,000
Number 22 has 3 bedrooms (Number 27 has only 2) ……………………+£15,000
Number 22 doesn’t have a garage (Number 27 does) …………………..-£8,000
Number 22 has had a recently refurbished kitchen + bathroom ……+£13,000
Value of number 22 ………………………………………………………………………….£235,000?

Obviously, different people will place different values on these features – some people need a garage more than a 3rd bedroom for example – and some features will be more or less important depending on the property and its location, and so this method is not an exact science.

Note: One warning about methods (2) & (3) above, where the value of one property is compared against one sold previously, is that the other property could have been bought for significantly more or less than its actual worth based on the buyer’s or seller’s personal situation e.g. seller desperate for a sale and so the house sold for less than its true worth, or buyer fell in love with the property and was willing to pay over the odds to secure the property which brings us nicely onto…

4. What the Estate Agent thinks it could/should sell for.
Like the Surveyor, a local Estate Agent will have an excellent knowledge of the local property market, but a good local agent like Fiuran Property will also have an in-depth knowledge in knowing how other comparable properties have fared in the marketplace, how long they took to sell and the feedback from the market regarding those properties. And whereas the Home Report valuation will look solely at the property and its current position in the market, the Estate Agent will also have a ‘real time’ handle on exactly how the property market is fairing and the feedback on similar properties. The Estate Agent will also take into account the seller’s personal circumstances & wishes with respect to the sale and this will effect the price that the seller wishes to offer the property for.

5. What someone is willing to pay.
This is often given as the right answer, and this goes beyond the basic calculations used to generate the Home Report figure. The great thing about properties is that no two are identical, and certain features may not have a strong monetary value, but a huge emotional draw which the right buyer may put a monetary value on over and above its actual worth.
However, to illustrate a flaw in the ‘what someone is willing to pay’ strategy, I’ll use an example of a 1 bedroom flat coming onto the market, offered at £82k:

Scenario 1: At the time, there is only person (Person A) seeking a 1 bed flat who is ready to buy. This person has a budget of £85k, but offers the asking price of £82k and, in the absence of competition, the seller accepts the offer.
Result:- Property sells for £82k

Scenario 2: At the time, there are numerous buyers in the market seeking a 1 bed flat, and subsequently a closing date is set. Person A offers their full budget of £85k and this offer is accepted.
Result:- Property sells for £85k

Scenario 3: Person A is awaiting his annual bonus from work which will allow him to fund his full budget of £85k, but it won’t come through for another 2 months and so Person A cannot currently pursue the flat. In the absence of any other buyer, the seller decides to drop the price in a bid to attract a buyer. A local developer sees an opportunity and offers £79k, the seller accepts as they have found their ideal next property and are keen to secure their next purchase.
Result:- Property sells for £79k.

You will note that nothing changed with the property itself, nor did what someone (Person A) was willing to pay for it, it just came down to correct buyers being in the market for that particular property at that time. The more unique a property is, the more it will tend to be affected by this, purely as unique properties have a limited market in the first place.

So you can see, the question of “What is my house worth?” is a very difficult one to answer! As ever, if you’re thinking of selling your property and need advice, talk to a local Estate Agent who knows the local area and market. At Fiuran Property we are specialists in residential property sales in Oban and the surrounding area.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Tips to securing a property in a fast-moving market.

In a good and fast-moving property market – as we seem to have in this area at present – for every one buyer who secures a property, there are usually another five or so people who didn’t get the property who naturally feel great disappointment. However, contrary to how it may seem, there is no dark art – the strongest offer in the shortest time usually secures the property – it’s as simple as that.

We do sympathise with those that lose out – we have lost out on buying properties ourselves and know how disappointing it can be. On one occasion when I missed out on a property I REALLY wanted, a wise family member said to me “what’s for you won’t go by you” – it felt like scant comfort at the time, but in reflection I can see it was sage advice.

Anyway, we thought it might be helpful to buyers to give our thoughts on the subject, and offer some guidance on the best way to put yourself in a good buying position. So in no particular order, here are our tips to help you secure the property of your dreams.

+ If you see a property you like, request a viewing quickly (i.e. within 24-48 hours of the property coming on the market) and be available to view the property as soon as possible. A property is most likely to sell within 2-3 weeks of it coming on the market, so if you can’t view it within the first few days of it coming on the market, you’re at a big disadvantage against those who can.
As well as keeping an eye on our website https://www.fiuran.co.uk/ (new properties get a “NEW” banner on their listings), you should like our Facebook page and set it to ‘show posts from this page first’ so you see new properties as soon as they hit the market. We also have a tailored email alerts system which you can be added to (or removed from) any time.

+ Get your finances in order. Know exactly how much you can afford to spend, using all resources available to you. Mortgage companies do ‘affordability checks’ but you should also do your own – test yourself e.g. could you live without that annual Netflix/Spotify subscription if it meant you could afford your dream property? Could you cut down on nights out/new clothes/fuel bills?
Remember, when making an offer on a property, the quality of the offer is just as important as the level of the offer so it’s good to put yourself in the seller’s position and think about how you would respond to an offer. If it’s burdened with lots of conditions & stipulations then it’s a less attractive offer to a seller than a ‘clean’ offer. The buyers position is also a very important factor; the below is the ‘pecking order’ of how sellers tend to rate buyers – where are you on this scale?

1. Cash buyer* (* a cash buyer is one who has all the funds liquid with no property to sell)
2. Mortgage buyer with nothing to sell, who has a mortgage offer in principle.
3. Mortgage buyer with nothing to sell, but who hasn’t consulted the bank/mortgage advisor yet.
4. Buyer in a chain who won’t require finance once sold.
5. Buyer in a chain who requires finance once sold.

Can you do anything to improve your position? e.g. If you need to sell a property – is it ready to sell? If you need a mortgage, have you spoken to the bank or a mortgage advisor?

+ Know what you want. Sometimes you don’t know until you see a certain property and/or get ‘the feel’, but you should know roughly what you are looking for, such as number of bedrooms, locations and whether certain areas will or won’t work for you, etc so that when a property matching your requirements comes on the market, you’re ready to act on it.

+ Get to know the local market. You should know about how often the type of property you are looking for comes onto the market and also how quickly it is likely to sell and what price it is likely to sell for.
Not a lot of people know this, but you can find out sold prices for properties in any postcode by going to Registers of Scotland (https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/). This will help guide you on what you should offer on a property (but remember it takes some time for a sale to be recorded on RoS so it may not reflect the current market), which brings me nicely onto…

+ Decide what the property is worth to you, and be prepared to offer as much as you are able to as soon as possible. We would never suggest spending more than you’re comfortable with/able to spend, but you should make your own mind up about what a property is worth, which can often be above the valuation figure/asking price in a strong property market. Property pricing is not an exact science, and the Surveyor’s valuation – whilst usually fairly accurate – is just one person’s opinion. Also, I must stress that we would never recommend rushing into buying property, but if you know what it is you’re looking for you can act fast when the right property comes up.

+ Don’t rush in, but don’t wait too long either. Be aware there’s no such thing as the perfect property, and whilst buying a property is a serious prospect, it doesn’t need to be forever. If it ticks most of your boxes and is a sound enough purchase, just go for it. Equally, if you decide that property is not for you, you can discount it from your search and quickly move on.

Here at Fiuran, we are local people who know the local market extremely well – we’re always here to talk, so if you ever want to chat about buying or selling property in general – please don’t hesitate to call us.

Big news in the Argyll & Bute property market!

We have waited nearly 12 years for this, but Registers of Scotland data shows we have now hit a new record high for quarterly house prices. In other words, house prices are now the highest they have EVER been in this area.

The Argyll & Bute property market has been quite unique in that the previous ‘high’ occurred way back in 2007. In the 11+ years since, the property market in this area has been stable but generally flat, i.e. minor ups and downs but no real overall change. This is in stark contrast in other parts of the UK where average prices have reached in excess of 40% higher than their pre-crash peak.

This new high in Argyll & Bute is as a result of 7 consecutive quarters of house price growth – that’s almost two years’ worth!
This is particularly remarkable for two reasons:
Firstly, there is normally a seasonality with house prices where, irrespective of overall market trends and conditions, it is rare that EVERY quarter in a year will be an increase on the previous one (prices often drop from Q2 to Q3 for example).

Secondly, this consistent increase has come against the backdrop of Brexit and all of the media talk of ‘a crisis’. We have certainly not seen Brexit having a major effect on the Oban property market. As I noted in a previous blog, in general, national events seem to have a very limited effect on the Argyll property market, akin to dropping a stone in a pool of water where the ripples become less pronounced the further out you go. This perhaps explains why we appear to be somewhat isolated from Brexit turmoil.
Of course, only time will tell if there will be any affect when Brexit happens, but at the time of writing, we still don’t know what the Brexit ‘deal’ will be, much less the resulting effects of this.

Incidentally, back in August 2016 I suggested in a blog that it would probably be a good time to buy property in this area, and anyone who bought then should have had their property value increase by around 11% since!

Why I love Oban

Being an Oban boy, its easy to be blasé about how fortunate I am to live in such a great place, so I thought I’d do a blog (to remind myself if nothing else) of my top ten reasons why Oban is so great and why I love living here in Oban.

1. The world class views. Often when watching property programmes on TV, those featured will be wowed by a particular view and, at risk of sounding haughty, I often think – meh! as they often pale in comparison with what Oban has to offer. There are so many spectacular views in this area (too many to mention) that hold their own against some of the very best in world.
2. Geographical positioning. Many smaller towns that are positioned very close to bigger cities tend to live in the shadow of their ‘bigger brother’, and fail to develop any real identity of their own. Consequently in such places there isn’t a strong business case to develop many facilities, as such facilities can be ‘bigger and better’ in the nearby city. With its closest big cities being around 2 hours’ drive, Oban strikes the perfect balance between having big-city amenities accessible, but not so close that they are overbearing on Oban itself.
3. The ferries, and the access to the islands. Oban – the gateway to the isles – feels like it’s at the epicentre of the West Highlands and radiates the feeling that a wonderful island adventure is just moments away! Further, the boats and ferries in the bustling harbour are constant source of interest – as Otis Redding’s song ‘Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay’ perfectly captures.
4. Fresh air. This is something that grown-ups seem to go on about, and in all honesty, not something that I really gave much thought to in the past. That is, until I read reports about the extreme measures being taken to combat air pollution in the likes of London (where the Mayor himself stated the air was ‘toxic’) I really started to appreciate the health benefits of breathing such pure air on a daily basis. Go on – get yourself to the war memorial on Ganavan road (or pretty much anywhere else in the Oban area), stop a while to pay your respects and simultaneously enjoy a few lungfuls of some of the purest air on the planet.
5. Beaches. We are truly spoilt having Tralee, Ganavan, & Little Ganavan (and many other) beaches on our doorstep. Being able to easily take yourself/the kids/the dog to a beach at the end of a working day in the summer (or winter, if you’re hardy!), is something that only a very small percentage of the world’s population can do. Having lived for a while in the Midlands of England – where the closest beach is over two hours’ drive away – I really missed being able to readily experience the sound of the sea lapping at the shore and getting sand between your toes. Simple pleasures, but ones that definitely shouldn’t be overlooked and underappreciated.
6. People & community spirit. Like many communities, Oban has experienced its fair share of tragedy in recent years, but what that has demonstrated is that, in times of need, Oban has a very strong community spirit where everybody pulls together and people seem to genuinely care about each other.
7. Low crime. Oban is fortunate that crime rates are quite a bit lower than national averages and the relatively small community – coupled with the strong community spirit – means there’s no hiding!
8. Rain. Bear with me on this one! Whilst it can be wearing – particularly in the middle of summer when we feel we have a right to sunshine – what it does is make the days of sunshine that bit more special. And it keeps everything green and vibrant.
9. Relaxed way of life. If you’ve ever visited a super-city like London or New York, you’ll feel the palpable energy that they radiate. It’s not something tangible that you can put your finger on, but if you’ve been there you will have felt it. Whilst it’s fun to experience for a short period of time, after a while it can be quite draining. Oban is very different, and has a calming, relaxed atmosphere. The wise people of the West Highlands have obviously cottoned on to the health risks associated with stress and seem to an inherent ability to avoid it.
10. Waterside location. I’ve yet to work out why humans have such an affinity to being beside the water. Perhaps it’s because water is essential to human life, or perhaps we feel a kinship to water as the human body is, after all, around 60% water! But whatever the reason, it just feels great being beside the water, something that’s reflected in waterside property normally being more desirable that its land-locked counterparts (as reported in a previous blog ). If you seek a property beside the water, please browse our listings! (http://www.fiuran.co.uk/oban/properties/ )

We’re number one!!

Lies, damned lies, and statistics (and property!)

(or “Statistics, and how much credence to place on them“.)

Many of our blogs have reported statistics concerning the Oban and the wider Argyll & Bute property market, and here I am telling you to be very careful when reading statistics. Allow me to explain…

I first learned about percentages in St John`s Primary School (now a nursery) in Croft Road, Oban, and I remember being taught that if a child got 49 questions right out of 50 they would have a score of 98%, whereas a child that got 2 out 2 they would have scored 100%. It seemed terribly unfair to the young me that the child who got 49 questions correct got a worse ‘score’ than the child who got 2 correct, and this was an early lesson to be careful when reading statistics.

Of course as education continued, through High School with Standard Grade Maths, Higher Maths, CSYS Maths, and then Maths at University, my appreciation and understanding of statistics continued (confession:- I’m a bit of a numbers geek!), and that one of the fundamental underlying principles of statistics is that of sample size.

As a fun aside, and to illustrate the point, the next time a beauty product manufacturer boasts that ‘89% of customers agree that their shampoo/make up/moisturising cream improves things, have a look at the small print stating the sample size. Often it’s less than 100 people that they had try the product. Given the small sample sizes, it would be perfectly possible for the manufacturer to sample, say, 100 people and if only 22% agree it was a good product, then it wouldn’t be a difficult for them to find another 100 people hoping for a different result…and then repeat until the ‘right’ result was obtained.

So what has this got to do with property?

Well the Argyll & Bute property market is comparatively small – only 429 properties were sold in Argyll and Bute in the last quarter, which is a very small proportion of the 26,982 properties sold in Scotland as a whole over the same period, and indeed a very, very small proportion of the 300,000+ properties sold in the UK. As such, small changes to the value or number of properties sold will have a significant effect on the percentages.

As I stated in our recent blog “it is important not to take UK-wide property market headlines (good or bad!) and assume they are applicable in our wee corner of the globe!”. As if to exactly illustrate my point, there was a column in the Property Section of the local paper recently with a headline that read “UK asking prices continue to rise post Brexit”
…the average price in Argyll & Bute actually fell by 4.6%*.

So, in summary, never take statistics on face value and always look at the detail surrounding them – you may be surprised with what you discover!

(* compared with the same period last year; Registers of Scotland Quarterly figures published 25th October 2016, https://www.ros.gov.uk/)

A good time to buy property? Yes, quite possibly

As reported in our last blog, the average house price in Argyll & Bute is lower than it has been in the past, and this is perhaps the strongest evidence to support the notion that there is scope for prices in this area to increase.
Further, some sources have suggested that house prices in Argyll & Bute will increase as much as 95% by 2030, and Professor Paul Cheshire, Emeritus Professor of Economic Geography at LSE, has predicted house prices in Scotland are set to rise 76% over the next 15 years, suggesting this would be a very good time to buy property.

Of course, recent political activity has added another factor that could effect house prices, however the truth of the matter is that no one knows what will happen following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, and most evidence at these early stages suggests there has been little or no effect at all. Indeed, Registers of Scotland have just reported that the volume of residential property sales rose 4.9 per cent in the last quarter (April-June 2016) compared to the same period last year – a total of 25,760 properties changed hands between April and June, the highest volume of sales for these months since 2008-09. The highest percentage rise in the volume of sales in Scotland was here in Argyll and Bute, with an annual increase of 24.5 per cent to 462 residential sales.

This does not come as any real surprise, as the overall housing market is governed by a basic rule of economics – supply and demand – and while there remains a housing shortage in the UK, demand outstrips supply. Secondly, as mentioned in a previous blog, national circumstances seem to have a reduced effect on the Argyll property market, akin to dropping a stone in a pool of water where the ripples become less pronounced the further out you go, and so the shockwaves of significant national events have substantially petered out by the time they reach us.

Generally speaking, property is generally a safe investment which is likely to only appreciate when viewed a long-term investment, and the real losses on property generally only happen when the property is bought and then sold at the wrong time across a short timespan. That said, the property market – like any other market – can be volatile and there are no guarantees to be had, so only you can decide if this is the right time for you to buy. If you are considering buying property in and around Oban, please feel free to browse all of our properties and plots for sale here. As estate agents, we can provide help and guidance on the whole house buying process and so if you need any advice, or if you would like to view any of our properties, we will be delighted to hear from you.

Argyll & Bute property market over the last 10 years.

We’ve put together a summary of how property prices in the Argyll & Bute property market have fared over the last ten years. (Click on image to enlarge)

The main thing to note is that we are yet to return to our pre-crash high water mark of £168,049, achieved in Q2 2007 just before the global property market crash. Although prices in Oban and the surrounding area didn’t fall away too badly in the months and years since 2007, we’re still not back to where we have been previously.

This is is stark contrast to many other parts in the UK which have reached (and exceed) their previously achieved highs. The average prices in places such as London and Cambridge are in excess of 40% higher than the pre-crash peak. The South Coast of England seems to be doing fairly well with prices in places such as Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton around 10% higher than the pre crash levels. This is worlds apart from the property market in Belfast where prices are still some 40% below their pre-crash peak.

Even places that are geographically very close can have very disparate markets, for example prices in Bristol are +17.6% higher than the pre-crash peak, whereas Cardiff – just 22 miles across the water – is a mere +2.4% above their pre-crash peak.

Closer to home, average prices in Aberdeenshire reached 23% higher than where they were in 2007, however the last few months have shown quite a steep decline most likely on account of the recent instability with oil prices which has a strong influence on house prices there.

If the Argyll & Bute property market had performed the same as Cambridge for example, our average price would be a heady £246,360. In actual fact, the average house price in Argyll and Bute for the last reported quarter was £146,746, down £21,303 or -12.7% versus the record high.

In summary, this is a good reminder that not all property markets in the UK are equal, and it is important not to take UK-wide property market headlines (good or bad!) and assume they are applicable in our wee corner of the globe!

Getting the job done

Have you ever noticed that, in all walks of life, professions, services, industries, there are generally two types of attitude?

There are those with a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude who simply want to get the job done, and then there are those teeth suckers who have a negative frame of mind and who seem to try their hardest to find obstacles as to ‘why not’. They focus on different ends of the task.

The achievers seem to visualise the goal, the ‘end game’ and work back figuring out how they will overcome the obstacles they may encounter, whereas ‘the negatives’ seem to identify the first potential problem, cite that as a reason not to continue and want to give up.

This applies to all walks of life, and when you’re dealing with absolutely anyone it is quite interesting trying to spot which category they fall into – it’s normally fairly easy.

Needless to say, we at Fiuran Property are firmly in the former category. We will do everything we can to help you sell your property and will be relentless in our quest to find a suitable buyer. Of course, some properties are harder to sell than others, however we firmly believe there is a buyer for every property, and there is unquestionably someone out there ready to love your property as much as you do.

There is no such thing as the ‘perfect property’ and the correct approach is to focus on the positives that the property offers and, provided it is priced correctly, it will sell. Equally, there’s no such thing as a bad property, only bad pricing, and it is quite common for a seller to over-value their own property – this is entirely understandable as a home is much more than just a pile of bricks to them (see our ‘House: home or asset?’ blog from October 2013 – http://www.fiuran.co.uk/oban/house-home-asset/ ), but it is very important to be impartial and realistic when selling a property; Celebrity New York estate agent, Fredrik Eklund, has some sage words on the subject of property pricing:

“Indeed, a good agent must dish out tough love; the most common cause of break-ups [of agent and seller] is when the seller won’t take the agents advice and pressures them to market it [the property] for more than it’s worth. If the agent caves-in in order to keep the client, the seller will soon despise him when he doesn’t get enough traffic.”

Every property has issues, and many of them can be remedied by the seller prior to putting the property onto the market. Leaking roof? Small damp patch? Many such issues can be fairly easily addressed by the seller, and usually at a lower cost than the amount a buyer will knock off the value of the property (as a buyer will inevitably overestimate remedial cost to protect themselves), and so it often makes the most financial sense to have the work undertaken yourself – this will have two benefits: firstly it will make the property more sellable and secondly, is likely to be more financially beneficial for the seller.

So, together and with the right approach & attitude, we can get your property sold!

Argyll & Bute Housing Market Update – September 2015

Argyll & Bute Housing Market Update – September 2015

The state of the housing market is generally defined by two key criteria, the average house price (whether prices are up or down) and the volume of sales. It is common for one to be up whilst the other goes down, i.e. as prices drop, more sales are instigated, and conversely, prices going up can be an inhibitor to the quantity of sales.

In Argyll and Bute, unfortunately both criteria were down in the last quarter compared against the same quarter last year. Prices were down by 1.6% and the volume of sales was down by 4.2%, whereas many other regions in Scotland have reported rises in both sales and average price, indicating a very strong market in those regions. Indeed, Scotland as a whole was ‘up’ in both respects.

So, all doom and gloom for those of us in Argyll & Bute then?

Well, perhaps if you’re trying to sell a property right now it’s not so good, but overall it’s perhaps no bad thing. As any economist will tell you, steady sustained growth is the order of the day, and in cyclic conditions, rapid growth is usually followed by a sharp correction – i.e market instability. So after a short period of growth, a small reduction is perhaps no bad thing for the greater good and the long-term stability of the housing market – something I think we can all agree is a good thing.

It should also be borne in mind that whilst these figures are worthwhile noting, the sample size isn’t big enough to make the figures greatly statistically significant, and just one or two data anomalies e.g a handful of sales of properties at above or below true market value can skew the data somewhat, particularly on average price.

Also positive for the housing market are the historically low borrowing costs. For the last few years there has been talk of when the record low interest rates would start to be increased – and this certainly seemed imminent over the last year or so – however within the last few days the Bank Of England voted 8-1 in favour of keeping the interest rates at the historic low of 0.5% , and the Guardian recently reported that the City is now predicting that UK interest rates will be on hold until autumn 2016. This decision perhaps being partly due to the fact the property market remains subdued.

….and finally, just as I conclude this blog, The Herald Scotland are reporting that House prices in Scotland are expected to rise by 5% over the course of the year, so is now the perfect time to buy a property? Only you can decide, but please feel free to browse all of our properties and plots for sale here, and if you would like to view any of our properties, we will be delighted to hear from you.

Footnote:
I had an interesting chat with Registers of Scotland recently, and I queried why the average price figure for 2014 Q2 Argyll & Bute changed from when it was first reported in 2014 to it being reported now (as the reference figure for 2015), and I asked which figure was correct. They told me that they often go back and change historic figures(!), so there’s another reason to take the figures with a small pinch of salt!

[Argyll & Bute Average House Price, April – June 14
£156,495 (as reported 29 July 2014)
£156,066 (as reported 28 July 2015)]