A healthy infusion of first-time buyers means that the outlook is sunny for the residential property market in Lanarkshire
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Kirsty Johansson
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There are so many variables in the housing market in Scotland at present that it is sometimes a good idea for property professionals to seek out reasons for optimism rather than bewilderment.
And in Lanarkshire, one of Scotland’s oldest and most geographically varied shires, a most heartening pointer to the future is the increasing level of activity in the sub-£150,000 sector of the market.
While some of this action is being driven by downsizers, a healthy proportion is coming from first-time buyers, encouraged by new mortgage products aimed at their interests.
New entrants to the market have been rare in recent years and their presence can only create a welcome boost for demand in the local transactional environment as they look to trade up in the coming years and bring new life into the property cycle.
Probably because of the previous dearth of first timers, business is a bit stickier at the other end of the market, in four- to five-bedroom detached homes, particularly in newer estates.
To get homes moving in this sector, valuations have to be realistic and expectation management becomes a crucial part of the professional’s duty. Sellers must accept that, because a house down the road went for a particular figure a few years ago, the same sum may not be achievable this year.
That said, while the market may not be quite as buoyant as previously, there are still buyers out there, closing dates are being regularly set and Home Report valuations are being exceeded by a factor of some 5%, and even 10% if the property has unique characteristics.
Challenges to personal finances are certainly a factor in decision-making, and people are having to tighten their belts, but the situation in Central Scotland is not as laden with gloom and doom as the southern England-centric mainstream media would have people believe.
Agents report healthy activity in valuation appointments, although they are not necessarily translating to action as lack of confidence – and lack of somewhere to move to – keeps a proportion of sellers sitting on the fence.
As ever, the speed of a transaction is dependent on realistic pricing. If a property is pushed on price, it sticks out like a sore thumb and inevitably has to suffer the indignity of price reductions as the weeks go by.
South Lanarkshire – especially around Biggar – is proving attractive not only to commuters to Glasgow and Edinburgh, but also to buyers from the south, seduced by space and lifestyle at a price they could only dream of in England.
Hotspots such as Bothwell, Uddingston, Strathaven and Lanark – all perennially attractive towns in their own right, but also eminently commutable – remain in the “ticking over nicely” category and are now being joined by Coatbridge and Airdrie.
Activity in former mining communities such as Shotts, Harthill and Forth is more muted and tends to be confined to buyers from the local area who may have strong family connections to the towns.
There is a fair bit of new build going on in the county, notably around Hamilton and on sites around Coatbridge, Glenboig and Carnbroe. Developers, however, are once again having to offer incentives such as mortgage assistance, free carpets and legal fees to get potential buyers across the threshold of the Show Home.
However, with the infusion of first-time buyers, the outlook for the coming years is optimistic and many parts of Lanarkshire offer a quality-of-life factor that would be hard to match elsewhere. The outlook is sunny.
Kenny Geddes is a Director in the Hamilton office.
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