Ballantynes Bugle

Ballantynes have long established relationships with many of Scotland’s house builders and property developers, and have grown to become one of the country’s leading independent agents in New Homes. As such, we’ve recently become Associate Members of Homes for Scotland, the trade body which lobbies parliament on behalf of the building industry.

Caroline Elliot, who is Director of New Homes at Ballantynes says that the current issues surrounding the industry all rest on building the volume of new properties needed to meet urgent requirements in Scotland. "So far, the promised allocation of financial help for the industry from Holyrood needs a great deal more detail and definition in an ongoing policy."

“In terms of really effective government moves to help this industry - which is so important to the overall economy - we sometimes seem to be going one step forward, two steps back.”

She points to the Help to Buy (Scotland) fund which, although welcomed when first introduced in response to the credit crunch, ran out halfway through 2014, meaning after good activity in the new homes market, sales fell from July onwards. “The next allocation of these funds, which can make homes affordable to buyers with little or no deposit, won’t be available till April 2015. Many buyers are agreeing sales now but cannot complete till then which is frustrating for them and for the developers who cannot move on to the next project.”

She says that the funds for next year may not last the whole year, such is the demand, so buyers keen to take advantage of the interest free loan should be planning to buy soon so they are ready to move after the funds are released in April.

Ballantynes are marketing a range of new homes around Scotland, including one-off bespoke houses, rural steading conversions, executive homes in the commuter belt and city apartments.

January 2015 will see the launch of Citypark by J Smart and Co, a development of one, two and three bedroom apartments located just off Ferry Road, Edinburgh. This is a prime example of the type of property Help to Buy (Scotland) can unlock to buyers. Aimed at first and second time buyers, properties here are generously sized city apartments - the one bedrooms are over 600 square feet. Prices will be confirmed at launch but are expected to start around £160,000.

New Homes have also been selling well at Oaklands, a Cruden Homes development in Edinburgh. Launched in March 2014, 80% of the development is now sold  with only nine units left. The success comes from the properties being competitively priced and so close to Edinburgh city centre. The remaining four bedroom detached home here is just £249,000 - making it an affordable option for a family home in the city.

Out in Newtongrange, Cruden Homes new showhome at its Wester Lea development showcases a range of two, three and four bedroom terraced, semi detached and detached homes. The draw for buyers here is the deals that are on offer according to Caroline Elliot: “Three bedroom homes, for example, are priced at £161,500 with a five per cent deposit paid by Cruden. They are keen to talk to buyers to work out the best deal for their individual circumstances, so the development is really worth a visit.”