More houses sold in the North East, but city prices fall further
The cost of a property in Aberdeen is down roughly 4.6%
The North East property market is showing early signs of a recovery following nearly three years of decline - but house prices in Aberdeen continue to fall.
Housing has been one industry to suffer as a direct effect of the downturn in oil and gas.
Home sales in both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are back on the rise, according to independent research carried out by Aberdein Considine.
The estate and letting agent’s Property Monitor report shows an 8.8% increase in transactions across the Granite City during the second quarter of the year.
Sales also jumped by 2.1% in Aberdeenshire, where the average sale price also rose by 3% during the quarter, almost twice as fast as the Scottish average.
Robert Fraser, a Senior Property Partner at the firm, said the impact of the oil and gas crisis appears to have “peaked” in 2016.
“The early indications from the spring and summer market are that sales are picking up again ever so slightly,” he said.
“Perhaps unexpectedly, Aberdeenshire also recorded a slight uplift in average prices.
“However, these figures need to be taken in context, as the comparative figure they are against – Q2 2016 – was probably when the market bottomed out.
“It will be interesting to see how the market performs over the last two quarters of the year. Should we see a repeat of the last three months, it may be the first tangible signs of a recovery.”
The report shows sales in Aberdeen increasing by 8.8% from 1,074 transactions Q2 2016 to 1,169 this year. The total value of sales in Aberdeen also increased from ÂŁ225,853,211 to ÂŁ235,108,513, up 4.1%.
However, the average property price in the city continues to fall, down 4.6%.
Aberdeenshire recorded an increase in average prices, up 3%.
The average price of a home in Scotland now stands at ÂŁ161,815, up 2.6% on the same period last year.
Across the country, sales rose by 1.8% to 26,526 transactions.
With an average price of ÂŁ249,353, East Renfrewshire has overtaken Edinburgh as the most expensive place in Scotland to buy a home