A TAYSIDE property expert has predicted that prices in the area have bottomed out and is optimistic they could rise this year.
Lindsay Darroch, the head of property at estate agents Blackadders, thinks the first quarter of the year will be on a par with 2012 but will show a steady increase thereafter.
He expects lenders to show “increased confidence” during the next 12 months leading to a rise in sales.
He said: “I anticipate the first quarter of 2013 being similar to 2012, with each quarter thereafter showing increased activity levels on 2012.
“I expect prices to remain stable with perhaps a slight increase in average price but certainly with anticipation that prices have reached the bottom and will from now on slightly increase.”
He said a reason for the increase in activity was banks making it easier to obtain a mortgage and also Government schemes encouraging lending to first-time buyers.
“This increase in confidence will free up lending but also see new lenders coming into the market,” he continued.
“The increase in lending will especially impact on first-time buyers, the lifeblood of a healthy property market, although the government could do more to assist first-time buyers.
“Another driver of the housing market in 2013, especially in the first six months, will be private property investors coming into the market on the basis that they are getting good deals for their money and that prices have stabilised and will start increasing.
“This corresponds with an increase in property investor activity at the end of 2012.
“With an increase in lending we will see more developers either returning to the market or increasing their build output.”
Reflecting on the previous 12 months, Mr Darroch said his prediction that prices would remain stable in 2012 was accurate.
He noted that activity levels last year were about 15-20% up on 2011 and that a recent report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders indicated the number of first-time buyers is at a three-year high.
“Lenders appear more willing to offer mortgage finance to those wishing to purchase their first home with a lesser deposit,” he added.
rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk