LONDON - A new report released by the Bank of Scotland shows that one of the worst places to live in Scotland has soaring property prices and has become a property market hotspot.
House prices in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire spiraled by over 36 percent in the last 12 months making it one of the most sought after places in Britain as far as investment property was concerned. A report released by banking group Halifax also shows that while the house price gap between north and south is narrowing, the annual house price inflation has slipped to below 10 percent per annum for the first time since the first quarter of 1999.
The average price of a Scottish home was £106,392, while the UK average stood at £166,074. East Lothian and North Lanarkshire have seen the fastest increase in property prices with gains of 20 percent and 18 percent respectively. "Price growth cooled in Scotland in the third quarter of 2005, but the slowdown has been more modest than in other parts of the UK," said Tim Crawford, BOS group economist. "Scottish houses remain the most affordable in the UK - 50 percent lower than Greater London - and Coatbridge continues a trend of commuting towns recording the highest annual rises."
The Halifax report stressed that House prices in the south are now 1.58 times the average in the north down from being two times in 2002. Hertfordshire registered a decrease of 6 percent in prices while prices in Surrey, Somerset, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Dorset fell by 5 percent each.
Commenting on their findings, Martin Ellis, Halifax's chief economist said in a statement, "Areas of Scotland have recorded the highest house price rises over the past year whilst many towns and counties in southern England have experienced modest prices falls. These falls however, need to be viewed in the context of the substantial price rises recorded in these parts of the country during the past few years."
Posted
on : Sun, 23 Oct 2005 12:05 GMT | Banking News
By : Pippa Fielding
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