One City's House Price Surge

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Two cities in the UK - one is a centre of commerce, has runaway house prices, and welcomes a constant stream of overseas property buyers.

The other is London.

House prices in and around Aberdeen have more than doubled in the past 10 years, according to data from the Nationwide Building Society.

That increase is only matched by the trendy north London borough of Islington, and by Westminster in the heart of the capital of the UK.

Recent figures show that Scotland's third city is recording a fresh surge in property prices. One estate agent describes the area as a property force field.

"Everywhere outside is doom and gloom, but it is boom time here," says Brian Sutton, of James and George Collie solicitors and estate agents.

Take a closer look at Aberdeen, and its picturesque, shimmering granite homes, and you can see the complexity of the UK property market.

You can stroll for miles in Aberdeen without seeing a sale sign outside a home.

The city has demand from first-time buyers willing to pay above valuation levels, interest from workers moving to the area, investors keen to get in on the act, and a lack of homes for sale.

All this pushes up prices. Yet, in Scotland as a whole, prices are only creeping up after years of stagnation.

It shows that averages can be misleading and that local areas can have very different trends to neighbouring regions, for reasons ranging from the quality of local schools to employment levels.

It also questions a widely held belief that the London property market is unique - that soaring prices in the south-east of England are unequalled in the rest of the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24348196

:beer::beer::beer:

noodle_doodle

I think everyone who doubted should simply post "Hamish was right"

Generali

I read this earlier today and thought you'd post it.

It's the first thing I've read that's made me think, 'I should visit Aberdeen'. I always assumed it was a bit of an industrial hell-hole, albeit with a nice community.

Save me a spot at the bar Hamish and I'll buy you a pint o' Buckie.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

noodle_doodle wrote: »

I think everyone who doubted should simply post "Hamish was right"

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Generali wrote: »

Save me a spot at the bar Hamish and I'll buy you a pint o' Buckie.

If we drank a pint of Buckie we'd not be needing a spot at the bar.

Any old doorway on the high street would do.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Generali wrote: »

I always assumed it was a bit of an industrial hell-hole, albeit with a nice community.

http://kellsmurthwaite.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/welcome-to-my-town-aberdeen-%E2%80%93-the-silver-city/

MFW_ASAP

Generali wrote: »

I read this earlier today and thought you'd post it.

It's the first thing I've read that's made me think, 'I should visit Aberdeen'. I always assumed it was a bit of an industrial hell-hole, albeit with a nice community.

Save me a spot at the bar Hamish and I'll buy you a pint o' Buckie.

I'm up working in Aberdeen at the moment. Never been here before and apart from the airport being way too small for the amount of air traffic (a tiny bar in the departure lounge and only one baggage carousel), it's a nice place.

Loughton_Monkey

noodle_doodle wrote: »

I think everyone who doubted should simply post "Hamish was right"

I can't believe anyone (with one exception) doubted Hamish at all. The facts speak for themselves.

It's wonderful to see house equity clocking up at such a fast rate that even an Aberdonian can't drink it all away at that rate!

An unusual article from BBC, since it doesn't get into the normal wingeing of youngsters priced out and held ransom to a life of renting while fat cat landlords sponge off the poor and vulnerable....

Fill your boots, Hamish. Go and celebrate at the Conservatory....

Britain in Bloom? It sure is up there!

Well done!

the_flying_pig

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

I'm up working in Aberdeen at the moment. Never been here before and apart from the airport being way too small for the amount of air traffic (a tiny bar in the departure lounge and only one baggage carousel), it's a nice place.

try it again in January.

wotsthat

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

I'm up working in Aberdeen at the moment. Never been here before and apart from the airport being way too small for the amount of air traffic (a tiny bar in the departure lounge and only one baggage carousel), it's a nice place.

I thought the same. It's the only airport I've been to that I thought was quaint and cosy.

IveSeenTheLight

wotsthat wrote: »

I thought the same. It's the only airport I've been to that I thought was quaint and cosy.

The size is not important, it's the ability to process the number of passengers at it's peak.

The airport is growing, but I find it relatively easy to go through Aberdeen Airport, whereas larger more affluent and preponderant airports are not so efficient.