Scots House Prices are the Best Performing in UK
6 January 2009
The latest House Price Index released today by Nationwide Building Society reveals that Scotland remains the best performing part of the UK. Prices are falling in Scotland at an annual rate of 8.1%, compared with the UK average of 14.7%. During the final quarter of 2008 house prices in Scotland actually increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1%, the only part of the UK to experience a rise in prices for a year.
Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
"Scotland is the most optimistic part of the UK with regard to expectations for future house price movements and has been so consistently throughout 2008. While current, relatively positive expectations are not a guarantee that prices will follow the same path, they do signal a greater degree of confidence in the Scottish market than in other parts of the UK. To the extent that we know the importance of confidence in housing market performance, this bodes well for Scotland."