Half of Scottish homeowners expect values to fall post-Brexit – report

Half of Scottish homeowners expect the value of their homes to drop after Britain leaves the European Union, according to new research.

Aberdein Considine’s Property Monitor surveyed more than 1,000 people north of the border with only 3% believing Brexit would increase house values.

It comes as the Scottish housing market broke £18 billion in sales in 2018 – a rise of £400 million on the previous year and the best spell of growth since the financial crash in 2008.

Average prices, sales volumes and overall market values all rose in the last quarter of 2018.

Jacqueline Law, Aberdein Considine managing partner, said: “These figures demonstrate that the market has to a large degree recovered from the difficult days of the financial crash but we cannot ignore the uncertainty which Brexit presents.

“Whatever the outcome, families and individuals still need homes to live in and properties will continue to be bought, sold and rented.

“Homeowners and businesses could definitely benefit from a clearer understanding about what the months and years ahead have in store, and hopefully the next few weeks will bring some much needed clarity.”

Uncertainty over Brexit added to a Scottish Government rise in Additional Dwelling Tax – from 3% to 4% – also meant more than half (52%) of those surveyed would be discouraged from purchasing an additional property in Scotland.

This is up from 45% in the third quarter of 2018.

Edinburgh once again remained the most expensive area in the country with average prices rising 9.3% to £272,989 compared with a 3.3% rise (to £174,290) across Scotland.

Meanwhile there were encouraging figures reported in Tayside with Dundee seeing an 8.7% rise in the number of properties sold and Angus estimating an 11% increase in average prices.