Strong Growth in Perthshire Housing Market

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Strong Growth in Perthshire Housing Market

HOUSE PRICES IN RURAL PERTHSHIRE rose by more than 7% during 2004, one of the largest price rises in any part of Scotland, bringing the average price for rural properties to a high of £314,670. This is the view of CKD Galbraith, the independent Scottish estate agents, which reviewed rural house price sales in Perthshire during 2004.

The firm sold houses worth a total of £50m at the premium end of the market all over Scotland, with an average asking price of £229,212 nationwide.

Perthshire was once again the most expensive rural area in the country, for properties sold by CKD Galbraith. The best value region was Inverness-shire with an average of £216,248.

William Jackson, who heads CKD Galbraith’s estate agency department in Perth said: “The market is driven partly by lifestyle concerns, as many couples and families relocate from Edinburgh and England to experience the beautiful scenery of rural parts of Perthshire.

But the accessibility of the region for commuters is another major factor which shouldn’t be overlooked. There is also a very strong market amongst local people moving from the centre of Perth to more rural areas as they reach different stages of their lives. Despite some rather gloomy expert predictions, we haven’t seen any slump in demand.”

Perthshire also recorded a very healthy percentage in excess of the ‘offers over’ price – at an average of 16 per cent above the ‘offers over’ price during 2004, proving that buyers are still keen to compete for the best houses.

The Scottish Executive has announced the imposition of an obligatory single survey, which sellers must commission, with a provisional start date of 2007.

Mr Jackson continued: “We expect that the imposition of the single survey system may have a mixed impact on the market. To a certain extent, it could reassure some buyers who are concerned about buying an older property, but generally most prospective purchasers are more confident commissioning their own survey. We will have to wait and see how buyers react.”

The average prices for properties sold by CKD Galbraith across Scotland in 2004 were:

Perthshire £314,670
Ayrshire £274,204
Inverness-shire £216,248