Lockdown restrictions failed to dampen interest in the Highland property market.
Highland Solicitors Property Centre’s Highland Property Review for the first half of 2021 also revealed an increase of 11 per cent in the number of properties sold in 2021 in comparison with 2020 with the highest number of sales for detached bungalows, which saw a 14 per cent rise in price over the previous 12 months to £254,046.
There was an even steeper increase of 23 per cent in the price of terraced houses, from £142,337 in 2020 to £174,644 in 2021, due to lower quantities of this property type sold in the year.
The biggest challenge for the Highland property market in 2021 was the lack of available stock for house hunters.
Any new property stock was quickly depleted as the market struggled to keep up with demand throughout the year, leaving just over half of property stock active by the end of 2021 compared to the start of the year.
HSPC manager Bernadette Walker commented: “Going into 2021 from an exceptionally busy end to 2020 saw no change in the level of demand for property in the Highlands.
“HSPC had similar high volumes of new property insertions throughout 2021 as it did in 2020; however, the demand from buyers saw many properties under offer quickly, leaving available property stock low.
“The property type that sold in the highest volume was detached bungalows with detached villas a close second, indicating that space is still a popular factor when moving home. Flats saw the biggest surge in sold volume for 2021, which could suggest that the desire to live in urban spaces was starting to gain interest again.
“Average property prices in the Highlands increased by nine per cent in 2020 with a further four per cent increase recorded for 2021, which shows a 13 per cent increase in property prices in the last two years.”
This saw the average house price for Highland properties increase from £196,044 in 2020 to £203,545 in 2021, with detached villas the highest-priced property type at an average price of £312,913.
However, those hoping to enter the property market had to move quickly to take advantage of the First Home Fund, a government initiative to help first-time buyers with up to £25,000 buy a property.
Applications for this scheme took up the allocated funding just five days after it opened in early 2021.
HSPC mortgage consultant, Norman Fell, said: “Funding for the First Home Fund Scheme was allocated within a few days of the scheme going live. This was in comparison to the previous year where the scheme was live for approximately six months.
“The Shared Equity LIFT (Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers) Scheme was extremely busy in 2021 with many first time buyer applications, similarly second time buyers in certain circumstances were able to use the scheme again.
“With mortgage rates at an all time low last year we maintained our annual review process by keeping our existing clients updated to new rates on offer as their existing deals were nearing an end. This was greatly appreciated by all of our clients as part of the service offered by HSPC Mortgage Services. “
The continued interest in Highland property was reflected in a 30 per cent month on month increase in property email alerts throughout the year while HSPC’s website saw a 20 per cent increase in traffic, with over 100,000 unique visitors in March alone.
HSPC also attracted its largest ever online audience with over 7.2 million views.
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