Scottish house price drop.

[Deleted User]

lilac_lady wrote: »

House prices seem to be dropping faster in Central Scotland than in previous months. Is it the same in your area of Scotland?

As there isn't much going on the market in recent months I find it hard to tell. We were in Glasgow (haven't yet put old house on the market) and we're now in North Ayrshire.

We had an Estate Agent out in late October to value the old house. Yesterday we went in to tell him to put the house on the market and get the home report done. He's upped his Estimate by 5 - 10k saying that things are selling better right now. No idea whether that's true, and we haven't yet had the surveyor's valuation back. But houses that we'd been watching (to guage prices) that have been coming onto OurProperty in December/January have done quite well - in some cases exceeding peek prices. But generally going for less than peak but reaching asking/valuation price.

What part of Scotland are you in? I'm looking at detached properties around the 200k mark too so that might be why I'm seeing a different pattern? Different types of property and different price ranges might be performing differently.

[Deleted User]

bernard_shaw wrote: »

You often boast that you've lots of money. You provide a tempting prospectus for BTL property investment in your home market. You should follow your own advice and jump onboard. Why don't you do that?

Really, it's a serious question. What's stopping you from investing in this buoyant market with its 10% annual return? Maybe this dunghill is too ripe even for you to try to pick out that halfpenny?

We've also read you boasting that you went to a fee-paying school. Could be that property investment today would involve some very expensive lessons indeed!

Why is it considered to be 'boasting' to state facts about your circumstances when everyone on here does it? Is anyone that gives information about their circumstances boasting or only the people that make you green with envy?

To some poor homeless drunk anyone sober living in a tin shed could probably be seen to be boasting. Don't take it out on Hamish because you feel inadequate. It really infuriates me that because this site is called "MoneySavingExpert.com" that only the poor and debt ridden have a right to discuss their affairs in the forums. Those with money should be entitled to speak freely without being subjected to petty comments such as yours.

Hamish has two properties as far as I can make out. I would have thought he'd need to be VERY rich to justify investing in a third. It's never wise to put all your eggs in one basket. I have two at the moment and whilst I consider property to be a safe investment (the only thing I'd ever invest in) I'll be happy to get rid of the second as too much of my capital is tied up in it. If I had another couple of grand I probably would keep two houses.

mitchaa

Aberdeen does have very strong rental yields so makes it good for those fortunate to have more than 1 property.

However saying that, if you wanted to extend your BTL empire today, you would have to be bonkers to do so. In my opinion, there are far too many vastly overpriced properties in the city that I do not believe they offer much potential growth.

As an example...OO £240k:rotfl:

http://www-m.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/276734?ID=MCGJLMNB#picture

I can buy this much nicer property just a few miles away for less..

http://www-m.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/276722?ID=MCGJLMNB#picture

Some estate agents in Aberdeen need shot with their valuations.

I was down in Dundee, some 65m south of Aberdeen last weekend, and the top property would be on the market for some £100k less than that OO £240k price tag and the bottom property some £50k less. VFM Aberdeen vs Dundee, Dundee wins hands down.

I have honestly given up looking at housing figures now even in Aberdeen. I was obsessed with them a year or so back, time for a step back I think. My home is my home and if its worth more this time next year then great, If not then ''Oh well''

Mitchaa

lilac_lady

"My home is my home and if its worth more this time next year then great, If not then ''Oh well''.

Mitchaa


That's what I think. I'm glad I'm not having to buy or sell at the moment though. Everything seems so unsettled in the housing market. So many graphs, valuations and predictions. No-one really knows what's happening or going to happen.

de1amo

i had a gf from aberdeen--i never went there and she generiously always travelled to my home--she has a few investment properties and is showing good returns both in rental income and increase in value-i was tempted at one time to buy a let property and it was good rent for relatively low price--there is a lot of rental demand in aberdeen because of the transient oil workers-it is different to the rest of scotland for this reason-oil--
She found the people in my home town very unfriendly --and i live in bournemouth that was recently quoted as the best place to live in--i tend to agree with her evaluation but its home!!

googler

Haven't read all of this thread, but I posted elsewhere -

"I can 'prove' a 16% rise in another part of Scotland, between first and second halves of 2009, but when I look at the data banded into price levels, it's clear that the prices stayed fairly static, and the average was skewed by the number of sales in the £300k+ price bands doubling or trebling."

Without knowing the source of the data, and examining the regional data, these general 'whole of Scotland' statistics don't mean too much....

bernard_shaw

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I refer you back to the longer term results.
In Scotland property on average has stagnated over the last two years.
Much better to look at your local specific area.
In my opinion, you are better off buying than renting to 'wait and see' as what Scotland is seeing is stagnation, not drops that would negate rent during the same period.

I appreciate that you're providing advice based upon your opinions and assumptions. But your inferences about my motivations and circumstances are unwarranted.

We are about to enter a period of government belt-tightening, with the Scottish Government's budget shrinking alarmingly (by almost 12% over the next two years). That's in 'real' terms.

According to The Economist, the public sector is Scotland is larger even than that in some of the Iron Curtain countries during the Soviet era. It provides about 1/4 of employment in Scotland and public spending this year will be more than 50% of GDP. What do you think this implies for final demand across the Scottish economy in the next couple of years? What can you infer from this?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bernard_shaw wrote: »

But your inferences about my motivations and circumstances are unwarranted.

No inference needed.

By your own admission you'll post any old tosh if you believe it will help you get a "cheapo house".

You've been put firmly back in your place by a number of posters on this thread.

Now run along back over to hpc like a good little troll.;)

IveSeenTheLight

mitchaa wrote: »

However saying that, if you wanted to extend your BTL empire today, you would have to be bonkers to do so. In my opinion, there are far too many vastly overpriced properties in the city that I do not believe they offer much potential growth.

There are many properties that do not fall into a good rental yield, however there are still some out there

As an example
http://www-r.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/276297?ID=NJCLONGF#picture
Would probably get about £800 per month which is a 7.68% Rental Yield.
Even if you cut the market and rented for £750 per month, that's still a 7.2% RY

Already done up to a good level, so no work required other than furnishing.

Another example that could provide a worthile rental return
http://www-r.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/274858?ID=NJCLONGF#picture

and another
http://www-r.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/264236?ID=NJCLONGF#picture

here's one that would need a little modernising in my opinion, but the price reflect so
http://www-r.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/276311?ID=NJCLONGF#picture

There are options out there if you are in the market

IveSeenTheLight

de1amo wrote: »

i had a gf from aberdeen--i never went there and she generiously always travelled to my home--she has a few investment properties and is showing good returns both in rental income and increase in value-i was tempted at one time to buy a let property and it was good rent for relatively low price--there is a lot of rental demand in aberdeen because of the transient oil workers-it is different to the rest of scotland for this reason-oil--
She found the people in my home town very unfriendly --and i live in bournemouth that was recently quoted as the best place to live in--i tend to agree with her evaluation but its home!!

It's not just oil, two universities contribute as well