| From Theherald.co.uk: Scotland's housing market shrank by nearly £900m in the second quarter of this year, official figures have revealed.Registers of Scotland yesterday said around 7500 fewer houses were sold in April-June 2008 than a year before, a drop of 19%. The total value of the market fell from £5.729bn to £4.830bn over the same period, a fall of 15.7% But the Scottish Government body, which records every property transaction in the country, reported those houses which did find a buyer were doing so at higher prices.
The average house price rose 3.6% in the second quarter to £155,691, bucking the downward trend firmly established elsewhere in the UK.John Boyle, of consultants DTZ, yesterday said the increase in prices was "surprisingly high" but the surest evidence yet that Scotland is to avoid a much-hyped crash.Mr Boyle, like most other analysts, still expects prices to fall this year, but by nothing like the declines seen in England. "I'm forecasting a small fall in house prices in Scotland by summer 2009, but probably less than 5%," he said..... Full Article: Source
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