In Scotland property professionals now believe that for those who can go ahead with a purchase there is no point in waiting to see if prices fall further because they might find that while they wait to complete on a sale prices have started rising.
The National Association of Estate Agents says there is a hint of optimism as the number of first time buyers on its books have increased from 8.3% to 9.5% between August and September while the Government's multi-billion-pound bail-out for banks is starting to make it easier to get a mortgage.
It could be that Scotland is seeing signs of a recovery first, according to Leslie Deans, senior partner of Leslie Deans and Co, a member of the Edinburgh Lothians Property Group (ELPG) of estate agents. 'Things are now considerably better than they were six weeks ago. Liquidity and the flow of funds has improved and it is a lot easier for people to get mortgages. There are a lot more deals around than there were,' he said.
'Although the days of 100% mortgages are gone, more lenders are back to offering 90% mortgages. Also, the bank base rate dropped in September and is virtually certain to drop again in November, he added.
Agents are hoping that next year the base rate could drop as low as 2% so mortgages should become cheaper and even more first time buyers will be able to enter the market.
'In Scotland prices have dipped by 10% since the start of the year, interest rates are dropping and are expected to fall significantly again by the summer when prices should have hollowed out. You should be able to negotiate down even fixed prices at the moment,' said David Alves, sales manager for Sturrock Armstrong Thomson.
Developers of new one and two-bedroom flats are also offering unprecedented incentives because of the abundance of such properties, many conceived and constructed during the boom period, on the market.
Companies such as Miller Homes and Bryant are enticing first-time buyers with offers of properties on which they only have to pay 75% of the purchase price now and the rest up to 10 years later. On some apartments, Bryant is offering to pay household bills up to £1,000 a month if owners move in before the end of the year. Many are in city centre locations which are prime territory for first-time buyers.
