It’s not unusual to see a slow property market at the start of the year, and as I mentioned in my previous report, prices are unlikely to rise significantly for a while.

So let’s look at some of the reasons behind this.

As in previous quarters, the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Real Estate Research has analysed ASPC data to produce the Aberdeen Housing Market report. The 2018 quarter one report has found that the property market is still proving slow to recover, and the longer winter has meant a more sluggish start to the year than normal.

For Aberdeen City and suburbs, the first quarter of 2018 saw a slight house price increase of 0.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. The first two quarters of the year tend to see the market being more active than the second two, so this increase is in line with expectations. Year-on-year, prices have decreased by 3.3% and the annualised 5-year change saw a slight decrease of 0.1%.

There has also been a dip in the number of sales of all property types compared to the previous quarter and this time last year. This is again likely due to the long winter. Sales of detached houses have seen the biggest decrease, at 17.3%.

There is more positive news for the oil industry, with slight increases in oil exploration and production and a price rise on international markets. Together with the current low mortgage rates and very competitive house prices in Aberdeenshire, this may encourage interested buyers to make a move.

I am cautiously optimistic that the overall levels of confidence in the local housing market may increase slightly, thanks to this. Reports from ASPC member firms reflect this – they appear to be seeing an increase in activity, and there are more properties coming onto the market.