Category Archives: Residential Property
Rise in First-Time Buyer Numbers
There was a sharp rise in the number of first-time buyers entering the property market in 2017 despite having to put down a deposit that is more than double what was required ten years ago. The latest Halifax First-Time Buyer … More
Be Proactive on Voluntary Registration
I have just been examining a big bundle of titles which were all dusty, making me sneeze, and some were barely legible. These titles relate to a property which has not yet been registered in the Land Register of Scotland … More
House Price Trends in 2018 Expected to be Similar to 2017
Halifax has revealed that prices in the final quarter of 2017 (October-December) were 2.7% higher than in the same three months of the previous year. In addition house prices in that quarter were 1.3% higher than in the previous quarter … More
Value of Privately Owned Housing Stock Reaches New High
New research by Halifax has revealed that the total value of privately owned UK housing stock has surpassed £6 trillion for the first time. Since 2007 the total value of private residential property in the UK has grown by £1.94 … More
Housing Market Confidence is Still Fragile
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has revealed that consumer confidence in the housing market hasn’t fully recovered since June’s General Election. Their recent research found that over a quarter of respondents (27%) do not agree that now is a good … More
A Recent Report Gives Insight into Housing Market Activity in Scotland
Registers of Scotland have released a new report which gives an interesting insight into property market trends over the past ten years. It reveals that the total value of the residential sales market in Scotland from 2007-08 to 2016-17 reached … More
House Price Index Reveals Annual Price Rise
According to March’s edition of the UK House Price Index UK, house prices rose by an average of 4.1% on an annual basis. Residential sales in Scotland rose by 2.0% to 6239 compared to January in the previous year , … More
Update on Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme
The Scottish Government has recently announced that the price cap on properties eligible for the Help to Buy scheme will remain at £200,000 in 2018/19. The scheme helps eligible householders buy a new build home from a participating builder by … More
The Bank of Mum and Dad
The Bank of Mum and Dad apparently is now Britain’s ninth biggest “mortgage lender” putting it on a par with the Yorkshire Building Society. Parents are predicted to lend more than £6.5bn this year to help their children get on … More
Keep Your Options Open
Ross Leatham, Partner in our Commercial Property Department explains what an option agreement is and why the parties involved in a land purchase transaction may want one: An option agreement is an agreement between a landowner and a potential developer … More