May 23 2007

A leading economist has warned of a slowdown in Scottish house prices following the latest rise last quarter.

Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist with Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: "Recent rises in interest rates will have a slowing effect on these house price increases... This latest increase in Scottish prices may well be the last surge before the much forecasted slowdown."

Scott Brown, partner at property solicitors Warners, is among those who disagree with such predictions, and has said: "There's no real cause to believe the market will slow down over the rest of the year."

A recent house price study by Lloyds TSB claims that, on average, house prices in Scotland have risen by 11.9 % in the last year and for seventy five consecutive months. The company has also claimed that the Lloyds TSB Scotland House Price Monitor is the only house price comparison index to focus exclusively on Scotland.

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