Slight fall in the number of empty homes in Scotland

The total number of empty homes in Scotland decreased by 0.6 per cent in 2010, according to the latest annual Bank of Scotland Vacant Property Report.

There were 105,649 vacant homes - an empty home or a second home, including both public and private properties - in Scotland in September 2010 compared with 106,239 in September 2009.

But whilst the number of empty homes is at its lowest since 2008 (103,433), it still accounts for 4.2 per cent of all homes in Scotland.

Western Isles has the highest proportion of vacant homes as a proportion of all privately owned properties, at 13.3 per cent; more than three times the average for Scotland (4.2 per cent). Argyll and Bute has the second highest level (11.6 per cent), followed by Orkney Islands (8.7 per cent). All these areas have a significant number of second homes.

North Lanarkshire has the smallest proportion of empty homes (1.8 per cent), followed by East Renfrewshire (1.9 per cent) and Midlothian and East Dunbartonshire (both 2.0 per cent).

House prices are generally lower in areas that have a high proportion of empty homes. Property prices in the ten Scottish local authority districts (LADs) with the highest proportion of empty homes are, on average, 3 per cent (£3,944) below the average for Scotland. Inverclyde has the largest discount with houses trading at 22 per cent (£30,151) below the average Scottish house price.

Dundee has the next highest discount with prices 17 per cent below the Scottish average. There are, however, exceptions. Three of the ten LADs with the highest proportion of empty homes have an average house price that is above the average for Scotland with Perth & Kinross recording the highest premium (21 per cent) to the Scotland average.

Nitesh Patel, Bank of Scotland housing economist, said: “Whilst it is encouraging that the number of empty homes in Scotland has declined over the past year, it is still at a high level, particularly in the context of the country's ongoing housing shortage. Locally, the existence of empty homes remains a particular problem in a number of areas where the proportion of empty homes is well above the average for Scotland as a whole.”