The Scottish housing market has turned a corner - that at least seems to be the conclusion of the latest housing market report from the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).

More surveyors in Scotland have reported a rise in house prices in the last three months than in any other part of the UK except London.  Twenty percent of chartered surveyors in Scotland saw house prices rise in July compared with seven per cent in June.

Moreover, more Scottish surveyors expect prices to rise in the next three months than anywhere else in the country.  A balance of 39 per cent more surveyors in Scotland expect prices to rise rather than fall over the next three months.  That's the highest reading since February 2008 and well ahead of the eight per cent positive balance for the rest of the UK. 

It's not just prices that showed encouraging signs for the housing market in Scotland. The number of new buyers enquiring about property continues to increase. Eighty one percent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in buyer enquiries than a fall. The UK average figure for July is 63 per cent.  New instructions and agreed sales were also higher, although the RICS says that prices are being supported, in part, by a lack of property coming on to the market.

Commenting on the figures for Scotland, Sarah Speirs from RICS Scotland said: "July saw a turning point in Scotland's housing market. More vendors are prepared to put their homes on the market, more people are enquiring about property for sale and of course house prices increased slightly with further increases expected over the next three months.  She warned, however, that much depended on mortgage availability: "If mortgage availability remains insufficient to meet the increase in buyer demand, then it is possible that prices may slip back again especially if unemployment continues to rise and mortgage rates increase."