Scotland has not escaped the general dip in activity seen in the housing market during the first few months of this year, new information has revealed.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed that in the first three months of 2010 there were 9,700 homebuyer loans granted, compared with 14,400 in the last quarter of 2009.
The aggregate value of these transactions also fell, from £1.6 billion to £1.1 billion.
Such a drop was consistent with the overall UK pattern and the CML Scotland policy consultant Kennedy Foster suggested the reasons were the same as well.
He stated: "The end of the last stamp duty holiday in December 2009 will have caused a drop in house sales at the start of the year and the severe winter weather seen in Scotland in January and February will have adversely impacted on the market."
Overall, the recovery of the Scottish market appears to be slower than the UK as a whole, but is in fact happening at a similar pace, albeit with a lag of one quarter, Mr Foster noted.
There were some positives emerging from the figures for those looking to buy a home for the first time. Notably, the average deposit in the first three months of 2010 was 23 per cent, the first time it has been below a quarter of the value of a home since late 2008.
Indeed, the UK as a whole may be seeing an upturn in the fortunes of first-time buyers, according to Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.
He said earlier this week that Rics data suggests enquiries from such people are on the rise as a result of measures instigated by the outgoing Labour government, such as a raised stamp duty threshold of £250,000.
Mr Rubinsohn observed: "The improvement was most marked in those parts of the country where potential home buyers are likely to derive most benefit from the new measure."
This was less so where homes tend to cost over £250,000, such as London, he stated.
However, as Scottish homes are mostly well below that figure - the Registrars of Scotland put the fourth quarter of 2009 average at £155,618 - it could be that Scotland is one area where the number of those looking to get on the housing ladder will increase.
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