North-East Housing Market Recovers from Fossil Fuel Downturn

A new report from Savills has revealed that Aberdeen’s housing market is finally recovering after the gas and oil downturn experienced in 2014 and 2015.

The report showed that sales of prime homes valued at more than £400,000 and those in commuter areas went up by six per cent in the 12 months to August of this year. This is despite the fact that overall the city’s sales went down slightly, and it is expected that area prices will go down by 2.5 per cent over this year.

Down the Coast

The survey found that in Dundee and Angus there has been a buoyant period for the property market, especially in relation to homes valued at less than £400,000.

Savills said that the number of people registering to buy property and look to follow in the footsteps of people down south needing home buyers survey Plymouth services have gone up by 31 per cent in the Aberdeen area and its surroundings. Viewings have also increased by 20 per cent, giving rise to thoughts that other industries will benefit such as those in the south, like https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/Homebuyers-Survey/Home-Buyers-Survey-Plymouth.

Top Performers

Portlethen and Insch, along with properties in the AB51 postcode, performed particularly well, according to the Savills’ survey. These include the commuter towns of Oldmeldrum, Kintore and Inverurie, which make up the market which showed the most activity. There were 696 transactions, which was a 19 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Westhill and Peterculter also performed well, with the new bypass said to have had a positive effect, and the Spotlight on the Residential Property Markets of Aberdeen and the North East report said that the central AB10 area was helped by strength in the second-hand market.

Savills Scotland’s head of residential research, Faisal Choudhry, said that activity in some areas show early signs that the Aberdeen area is recovering from the effects of the energy market downturn. Read more about this at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35631775.

The annual number of property transactions in Aberdeen and the wider Aberdeenshire area has held firm for almost three years, with just under 8,000 taking place, he said. The average prices currently stand at £146,000 in the city and a slightly higher £189,000 in the shire overall. Choudhry said that the AB15 area was a leading hotspot.

By Ronan