Homeowners who sell their home through GSPC can now get their Home Report and all the property advertising they need without paying a penny upfront and without having to pay for either if their home doesn’t sell.

Whatever is influencing the property market right now, the general election has nothing to do with it. But change is on the way (probably).

Residential property sales in west central Scotland rose significantly in the first quarter of 2010, but prices dipped compared to a year ago. Paradoxically, however, the dip in prices could be a sign of continued recovery in the property market rather than the start of a ‘double dip’.

With a general election only weeks away, the Electoral Commission has warned that thousands of Scots who have moved house risk losing their chance to vote because they are not on the electoral register.

There’s been a lot of speculation recently about the possibility of a ‘double dip’ in the property market, but is it really likely? When you look at what's been happening in the markets, probably not.

The papers have been full recently of stories about rising house prices. The temptation is to assume that the property market is back to normal and that we are at the start of another steady rise in prices, when that is far from the truth.

House prices rose strongly in January according to the Nationwide - normally the first of the major lenders to report on the property market. And it’s not the only one suggesting a continued revival in the property market. But look behind the headlines and you can see what a huge hill we have still to climb to get back to more ‘normal’ activity levels.

The first two weeks of the year brought a welter of news about the property market, but so many sources to draw from bringing it together is not as easy as it sounds. So, what can we say so far with any confidence?

House prices were 1.1 per cent higher last month than they were a year ago according to the Halifax. It is the first time that the Halifax house price index has reported positive annual house price inflation since last May.

House prices across west central Scotland, the country’s largest property market, are almost exactly the same as they were a year ago according to the latest GSPC House Price Survey. Despite the financial crisis, a mortgage ‘drought’ and the recession, the average house price in Strathclyde currently stands at £134,400, just as it did at the end of 2008.

One of Britain's biggest house builders has added its voice to the clamour of opinion presently suggesting that the housing market is continuing its climb out of recession.

Scotland’s chartered surveyors expect house prices to rise further over the next couple of months as buyers and sellers continue to feel more confident in the market.

Official data from the Registers of Scotland has confirmed earlier reports that house prices in Scotland rose sharply in the three months to October. The number of transactions, however, remains subdued.

House prices have risen for six months in a row according to the Nationwide and are now higher than they were a year ago.

Lenders will have to apply tougher affordability tests before they agree to a mortgage for homebuyers and owners.

Scotland remains the UK’s most buoyant property market outside the hot house of London and the south east according to the latest Housing Market Survey from the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).

Annual house price inflation in Strathclyde turned positive in the last three months moving from an annual price fall of -7.3 per cent at then end of June this year to a rise of 2.2 per cent at the end of September according to the latest GSPC Quarterly House Price Trends.

The number of homes taken in to possession and the number of home owners in arrears on their mortgage payments fell in the second three months of the year.

Mortgage lending to buy property showed the first annual increase since early 2007 according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

News of a recovery in house prices is bringing more homes on to the market according to the latest survey from the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).

House prices in rural areas have fallen by less than homes in cities over the past year, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Rural Housing Review.

The Halifax has added weight to reports that house prices have risen surprisingly strongly in recent months; its latest market analysis suggests that average house prices rose 0.8 per cent in August. That pushed prices back to the level seen at the end of 2008, reversing the falls seen earlier this year.

Mortgage approvals rose again in July, the fifth month is a row to see an increase in approvals to purchase residential property. But total mortgage lending fell by £400 million as repayments outweighed new lending.