Released on: January 21, 2008, 6:42 am

Press Release Author: Jim watson

Industry: Real Estate

Press Release Summary: With today\'s news of falling house prices from the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors, those looking at the housing market may wonder
where any good Scotland property investment prospects may lie

Press Release Body: With today\'s news of falling house prices from the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors, those looking at the housing market may wonder
where any good Scotland property investment prospects may lie. While too much may be
read into one month\'s figures (bearing in mind, for instance, that Halifax revealed
a 1.3 per cent monthly rise in prices for December), the news from Rics will leave
many feeling gloomy.

Yet there are still locations, even in a tough year, which perform particularly
well. This point was made in the Independent today as it listed the top locations
for 2008.

On the face of it, the list may not look too surprising or the explanations for
forecasts of success particularly original. East London is tipped to do well because
of the pre-Olympic development. Liverpool is poised to benefit from its exposure as
the European Capital of Culture, while north Kent may not have any special events
taking place but is about to benefit from improved transport links to London.

Outside England, the reasons may be somewhat more subtle. Martin Ellis, chief
economist at Halifax, told the paper Wales property would do well because of the
growing second home market, with prices cheaper than the Cotswolds across the
border.

In Scotland, however, it is more of a case of business as usual. Not quite on the
scale of the past year - which saw house prices rise ten per cent - but four per
cent, as predicted by Nationwide, which is a strong performance in the context of a
market predicted to be flat overall.

The business as usual element has two parts. In the first instance, Nationwide chief
economist Martin Gahbauer told the paper, \"Scotland has enjoyed fewer boom cycles
than the rest of the country\", to which can be added the lack of any major loss of
affordability (the ten per cent rise was from a low base by UK price standards, in
contrast to London and the south-east).

Secondly, the business which has driven the north-east economy - oil - will continue
to make Aberdeen the hottest hot spot of all, while commuter towns with cheap prices
and good transport links to Glasgow and Edinburgh - such as Paisley, Lochgelly and
Greenock - will also enjoy rising prices.

Allied Surveyors Scotland also expects Scotland to perform well. Director Grant
Robertson said the market would be \"reasonably well protected\" from the general UK
downturn, adding: \"I think that we\'ll see modest, single digit growth - between five
and seven per cent is what we\'re thinking as a company.\"

Mr Robertson, like Mr Gahbauer, saw affordability as an issue in Scotland\'s favour,
with a much kinder ratio of earnings to borrowings. \"Our cousins down south tend to
borrow proportionally far higher against their income,\" he commented.

As well as offering a better deal for residents, the market may have some good
buy-to-let opportunities; Scottish cities are seen as attractive and are also
fee-free places to go to University, the Independent noted.

While Glasgow joins Liverpool and London in being engaged with a big project - in
its case the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the urban regeneration project that comes
with it - most of Scotland, it seems, is simply able to rely on carrying on as
before and enjoying a strong housing market without the major fluctuations of other
UK locations. This is something which may soon see a lot of envious eyes peering
northward and investors coming in.

In today\'s world Property investment is an excellent investment option especially
investment in UK

Web Site: http://www.assetz.co.uk/

Contact Details: Address:Assetz House, Newby Road, Stockport,Cheshire,SK7 5DA

fax:0845 400 6010

email:linkexchangeseo@gmail.com