Clydesdale house prices on the rise

As the Gazette went to press on Tuesday, figures released by the Zoopla property website showed that 408 houses had been sold in the Lanark area in the previous 12 months, with an average sales price of £122,954.

There had been 216 houses sold in the Carluke area during the past year at an average price of £120,570.

And in and around Biggar, 103 houses had been shifted for an average fee of £145,643.

Such figures – a big improvement on the many dark days, weeks and months in the wake of the 2008 recession – show perfectly how business has improved for estate agents like Remax Scotland associate Andrew Duncan.

“The increase in house sales illustrates the economic recovery of recent times,” said Andrew (38). “The last six months of 2013 were when we noticed a real upturn in activity.

“There were a lot of good news stories about the economy – instead of the bad ones we’d been used to hearing for so long – which helped provide a general feeling of confidence in the housing market.

“Things improved to such an extent that, in 2013, the branch I work at in Lanark sold 39 per cent more houses than in 2012.

“The workers here don’t want to blow our own trumpets, but it’s fair to say that we were very happy with those figures.”