Ooops, there go prices in Scotland, too....

carolt

I think £300 is somewhat underestimating the cost, CB1979.

HIPS in England cost more than that - around the £400 mark, I believe, and they don't include a survey, as the Scottish ones will, therby adding another £2-300 minimum I would have thought to the total cost.

Not all those selling properties are cash rich - finding an extra £600+ upfront is a lot of money and will mean all those who want to test the waters at the peak of the market (as they watch property prices down south getting hit) and just all those who don't fancy paying £600+ more than they need to, will put their houses on the market.

It happened in England with HIPS - as they were introduced at different price bands, there were observable jumps in supply at those levels just before they became compulsory.

It will happen in Scotland too.

And by the way, not everyone in Scotland work in oil! Correct me if I'm wrong (with properly researched statistics, not anecdotes of 'my son earns..') but average Scottish salaries are surely lower than a lot of the UK - nothing like London. Can the Scottish average really be higher than 25K? Doubt it, which makes those buying 1 beds at 130K or whatever look a bit brave...or foolish....

beecher

The single surveys are supposed to be £300, and the buyer reimburses the seller. Can't see it having a huge impact on the market at all as buyers are usually sellers who have to factor in the cost of surveys for the house they'll buy. When house prices were at their peak this could involve undertaking many surveys, and cost a fortune.

The woman who made the comment retracted them fairly quickly anyway - house prices will definitely come down, but it won't be because of the single survey.

CB1979_2

agreed carolt however it's a cost they'd have to get done on buying their property anyway, so it's all swings & roundabouts imo.

also ALOT of agents include this in their contract now, so only gets paid once the property is sold, haven't looked into but am assuming though that if you change agents you will have to pay up.

jennifernil

properly researched but a little out of date.....31st July 2006

UK average..............28210
Scottish average.......25157
Aberdeen.................31090
Edinburgh.................28386
Glasgow...................26179

carolt

Thanks - always good to have some figures.

Kat_9Lives

I'd been wondering how much the average offers over price was now and do feel the 5 - 12% mentioned above by immy is more realistic given the current uncertain climate. People I talk to are still saying 20% like its etiquette to pay 20% over! However an awful lot of similar properties are on the market at samey prices AND some of them have had offers on that obviously didn't come to fruition.

Anyone else noticed the mess the Scottish system is in now with people making offers and not being able to complete? It used to be you had to be in a position to complete before making an offer (20+ years ago) now people make an offer without selling their property and without finance in place.

Having discussed this "trend" we have decided to only accept an offer that comes with a time frame for completion when we do decide to sell. Am I being way too control freaky?

jennifernil

When you accept an offer part of the negotiation is the entry date. If you have already sold then you can state the entry date when you advertise.

Anybody making an offer would be very unwise not to have an AIP from a lender in place before offering. Most offers now will be made "subject to survey" which allows them a get out if the survey price is too low. The single survey system will make it a bit easier for buyers in that respect.

I don't think it has ever been unusual to buy a new place before selling the old one, you just need to be sure you can afford to bridge for a while if necessary. The alternative is to have to rent till the right place comes along.

I think you are worrying too much, yes even maybe being way too control freaky!

mitchaa

jennifernil wrote: »

properly researched but a little out of date.....31st July 2006

UK average..............28210
Scottish average.......25157
Aberdeen.................31090
Edinburgh.................28386
Glasgow...................26179

WRONG!!!

National average is no-where near £28,000. As of last year it was £25,000. Dont know where you have got your figures from but i will dig out the official link into salaries.

edited...

Here you go, direct from the government..

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2007/tab7_7a.xls

THE UK NATIONAL AVERAGE CURRENTLY STANDS AT £24,908

The more important median figure stands at £19,943 (50% under, 50% above for those of you who do not understand the term median)

mitchaa

Addional to the above, why has the O.P assumed the housing market in Scotland is on a downturn from the link posted in the original post?

Says nothing of the sort.

Property on the NE coast is still going strong due to the NS oil and gas industry.

Typical rents for 2 bed apartments are £1000pm up here in Aberdeen, well above what they would be in any other city (bar London)

House over the road from me was on the market for about 1 month with OO £300k, sold last week for £410k so an OO bid of around 36.5%

Hardly the sign of a falling market:D

O.P...Typical scaremongering and wants to bring Scotland down as house prices down south are crashing left, right and chelsea.

NE oil workers on starting salaries of at least £30k, majority on around £55k, with obviously the more senior on £75-85k.

Its not just the actual offshore workers that are on more, its the whole industry and infastructure.

North sea pilots are on about £90-100k per year in Aberdeen, compared to pilots down south on salaries of £75-£85k

Aircraft engineer salaries in Aberdeen, £45-65k.
Anywhere else in the uk £40-55k

Then you've got all the onshore oil industry guys, the refineries themselves, the sea and boat side of things.

The infastructure is massive and pay up here is good for those in and around the oil and gas industry. It's basically typical London salaries for those in the oil and gas WITHOUT London living expenses:D

Said it before and i'll say it again, the NE of Scotland is the place to be:D

mitchaa

carolt wrote: »

I think the examples on here make it clear to me that Scotland is ripe for a fall - 310K for a house sounds like a lot to me as a multiple of local salaries.

Cant believe i have just read that, you wouldn't bat an eyelid for a £310k property south of the border but because its north we cant afford it:rotfl:

What planet are you on? Why would you think Scottish salaries are not as good as English salaries? Granted London is an exception, but everywhere else in England is similar if not slightly less than north of the border

SCOTLAND

Glasgow - £22968
Edinburgh -£28266
Aberdeen - £26599
Dundee - £23090

ENGLAND

Newcastle - £21887
Liverpool - £23353
Leeds - £23338
Birmingham - £23754
Portsmouth -£25481

I think you'll agree some pretty major English cities for comparisons.

London - £39k, but you have to take into account the city stockbrokers with salaries of £150-£250k bumping up this figure. The median salary of £27,868 is better indication:)