House sales are increasing in many parts of the north-east but a property glut has hit prices.
An Aberdeen and North East Residential report launched by property giant Savills this morning highlights a continuing market recovery as the region shakes off the recent oil and gas downturn.
Annual sales in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire held firm at just under 8,000 for nearly three years.
But while the volume of house sales in the Granite City fell slightly during the 12 months to August 2019, Aberdeenshire transactions rose 6%.
Savills says top performers included Insch and Portlethen, while the AB51 postcode, including the expanding commuter towns of Inverurie, Kintore and Oldmeldrum, remained the most active market in the shire after a 19% jump in sales.
The impact of the AWPR is reflected by increases for locations with easy access, with Peterculter and Westhill (up 27%) enjoying a particularly good bypass boost, the report says.
Prime sales across the region – homes worth more than £400,000 – grew 6%, with the AB15 postcode area, including Cults, Bieldside and the west end of Aberdeen, accounting for nearly 30% of the total.
Savills says the recovery has spread to Milltimber and Aboyne, while Aberdeen has enjoyed its strongest £1 million-plus market in three years, with 11 sales in this category during the year to August. More than half were in the AB15 postcode.
A glut of mainly lower-priced homes on the market caused average prices in the city and shire to fall 3.5%, to £146,141 and £189,784 respectively.
But Savills predicts prices could start to rise from 2021 and grow by 3.5% between now and 2024.
Faisal Choudhry, head of residential research for Savills in Scotland, said: “Overall economic output by the end of the year is expected to increase for the first time since 2014, and we anticipate a subsequent surge in buyer activity.
“Activity will continue to recover, provided sellers maintain realistic price expectations.”
