First-time buyers are still struggling to get their first foot on the property ladder, despite increased activity in the housing market.
George Solley, director of property sales at Thorntons, said that although activity in the housing market is increasing and the average price of sold properties is on the rise, this does not mean house prices are on the up.
Instead, he said more sales of larger properties are skewing the average price figure.
A report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Scotland released this week found that activity in the Scottish property market was picking up faster than any other region of the UK.
“March has proven to be a busy month in terms of properties coming to the market,” said Mr Solley.
“It is encouraging to see an increase in activity in this area of business and as reported by the RICS we are seeing the average price of house selling in the area rising as more sales at the middle to top end of the market figure in the mix of properties.
“It’s that average house price statistic again, however, and not house prices which are rising.”
Mr Solley added that the restricted availability of mortgages is stopping any significant upsurge in the price of properties.
“Reduced activity at the low end of the market as first and second time buyers find difficulty in finding mortgages is playing a significant role in all of this,” he said.
“Listings in March were well up on the preceding Month in 2011 and show an increase of over 22%, in terms of number of properties as against March 2010. This trend is showing across all locations in our Tayside and Perth branches.”
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