Lack of supply to continue house price and rent rises

House prices in Scotland are projected to rise by 5 per cent over the course of the year as supply continues to fail to meet a rising demand for homes, according to surveyors.

The latest UK Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that 28 per cent more chartered surveyors expect prices to continue rising in Scotland over the next three months.

Sarah Speirs, director of RICS in Scotland, said: “Given current market conditions, the latest data unsurprisingly shows house prices continuing to rise, and at an accelerating pace. As the Scottish Government increases investment in initiatives such as Help to Buy, which further stimulates demand while failing to address the critical issue of housing supply, more needs to be done to increase and expand housing supply.”

In the lettings market, tenant demand in Scotland again outstripped demand with rents expected to increase in the near term as a result. Around 20 per cent of respondents to the survey are predicting a rise in rents during the next three months.