Rural peace?

To coincide with the Journal’s rural property special feature, Registers of Scotland (RoS) has carried out data analysis to identify any differences between the rural and urban residential property markets in Scotland.

Our research compared the sales in 2007 with those in 2010, and shows that the volume of sales in urban areas fell by 55 per cent while in rural areas the fall was lower at 45 per cent. In urban Clydebank, for example, sales fell by 55.83 per cent and in rural Aberfoyle, sales fell by 45 per cent.

Over the three-year period, prices rose by just over 2 per cent in urban areas and by just over 1 per cent in rural areas. These figures indicate that the rural property market has had a slightly more stable time of it during the economic downturn.

The maps (see below) (courtesy of the RoS Land & Property Data team) show urban and rural property hotspots in Scotland.

If you would like to see the full report, please visit our feature articles at ros.gov.uk/public/news .

RoS can provide land and property data as bespoke reports tailored to meet customer needs.

To find out more about our services, visit: ros.gov.uk/professional/eservices/land_property_data/index.html or email at business.development@ros.gov.uk

ARTL UPDATE – as at 18 May 2011

• 42,033 transactions have taken place
• 627 solicitors’ firms are currently on the ARTL system
• 29 lenders are currently on the ARTL system
• 13 local authorities are using the system.

For up-to-date information and a full list of participating practices and companies, go to: ros.gov.uk/artl

SDLT changes

HMRC have made changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) return that comes into force in July. RoS and HMRC have been working together to ensure that the ARTL system will be automatically updated to reflect these changes. As with the current system, users will not be able to submit an ARTL application until the SDLT return has been completed.

The changes to the SDLT return reflected in ARTL will only affect applications containing a conveyance deed; applications containing charges, discharges or grants will not be affected. RoS will publish further details over the course of the coming weeks on our website ros.gov.uk

 Information on all the changes to the SDLT return can be found on the HMRC website at hmrc.gov.uk/so/change-info-return.htm