England has fewer vacant properties, but there are more empty homes in Scotland, reports show

The number of long term empty private properties homes in England has fallen for the first time in three years, according to the latest annual Halifax Empty Homes survey.

But in Scotland the number of vacant properties has risen to its highest level in six years, according to the Bank of Scotland Vacant Property Report.
 
There were 295,519 long term empty private properties, that is homes that have been vacant for more than six months, in England in April 2010. This is a decline of 6%, or 20,537 homes, from 316,056 in April 2009.
 
The number of long-term empty private homes in England is the lowest since 2007. Empty homes now account for 1.6% of all private homes, says the Halifax report.
 
But there is a significant north/south divide. Almost two thirds, 61%, of all long term empty private homes are in the north. The North West has the highest number at 64,596, accounting for 22% of the total across England. The North West also has the highest number of long term empty homes as a proportion of all privately owned properties at 2.6%.
 
In contrast, all southern regions have a proportion of long term empty private homes that is below the national average at 1.6%.
 
The research indicates that a high number of empty homes are directly linked to the local economic environment. In the 16 areas where the proportion of long term empty private homes are at least double the national average property prices are 29% lower than the national average, earnings are 14% below the national average wage and unemployment is higher than the national average. The highest number of empty properties are also in deprived locations.
 
‘It is encouraging that the number of long term empty private homes in England has fallen, reversing the increases recorded over the preceding two years. Nonetheless, it is concerning that the problem of empty homes remains substantial in a number of areas. Areas with high levels of long-term empty homes are typically locations with high levels of unemployment, as well as lower than average earnings and property values,’ said Suren Thiru, Halifax housing economist.
 
In Scotland there were 106,239 vacant homes in Scotland in September 2009, a rise of 2.7% from 103,433 in September 2008. The number of vacant homes is at its highest since 2003, accounting for 4.3% of all homes in Scotland.
 
High levels of vacant homes are correlated with the local economic environment. In the ten local authorities with the largest proportion of vacant homes house prices are 3% lower than the national average and earnings are 9% below the average for Scotland.
 
The Western Isles has the highest proportion of vacant properties at 13.3%, followed by Argyll and Bute at 11.4% and the Orkney Islands at 8.9%. North Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire have the smallest number of vacant properties at 1.9% each and Midlothian at 2.1%.
 
‘It is clearly concerning that the number of vacant homes has increased for the second successive year following several years of decline. This is a trend that needs to be reversed, particularly within the context of Scotland’s longer term housing needs. Areas with high levels of vacant properties are often areas with lower than average earnings and property values,’ said Thiru