Property reports relaunched

This month, Registers of Scotland (RoS) will relaunch its residential property statistics section on its website ros.gov.uk and unveil a new suite of property reports for use by the public and professionals.

Under the banner of “Property Statistics”, RoS’s Yearly Property Report will replace the current 52-week report. This is a year-on-year view of the volumes and averages for local authority areas dating back to 2003, the first year when all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities were represented on the Land Register.

This report, only available online, is a map-based, interactive report, which from next year will cover the past decade.

Visitors to the site will see an average price map created using Google Maps, focusing on Scotland and highlighting local authorities in different colours. Clicking into a specific local authority area will illustrate the current prices and volume of sales for that area in more localised reports.

Also on the new webpage will be Scotland’s Monthly House Price Report. This will contain average prices and volumes of sales for the six cities and Scotland, including any highlights and key findings from the statistics.

Registers of Scotland is also now available on Twitter @ScotsLandReg 

In Other News

Land Registration Bill passed with flying colours

MSPs have unanimously passed the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Bill. The bill will replace the 1979 Act with a fair and balanced system of land registration fit for the 21st century. It will place on a statutory footing many of the sound policies and practices that have been developed by Registers of Scotland since the introduction of the Land Register in 1981. 

Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise & Tourism, said: “It is recognised internationally that an efficient and secure system of land and property registration is fundamental to the operation of the economy. Registers of Scotland and the Land Register are a key part of that process and they support the Scottish economy by underpinning a property market that can be worth more than £24 billion each year. 

“Registers of Scotland sets the standard in how information about land and property is captured, held, analysed and made available to the people of Scotland.”

Sheenagh Adams, Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, said: “The bill brings nearer the prospect of a completed Land Register that will allow us to answer the question, ‘Who owns Scotland?’

“The bill will provide RoS with new opportunities to exploit our expertise and Trading Fund status. The provision for electronic documents and registration will provide Scottish society with the much-needed ability to conduct business legally in an electronic form. 

“Furthermore, the prospect of electronic deeds and registration has the potential to modernise conveyancing practices and significantly reduce costs to the housebuying public.”

By bringing registration law more closely into line with general property law, the bill addresses legal tensions that have caused confusion and uncertainty for property owners since the introduction of the Land Register. The changes will ensure that the Land Register continues to underpin the Scottish economy.

Edinburgh Customer Service Centre move

The Edinburgh Customer Service Centre and the Chancery and Judicial Registers are moving during the summer from Erskine House to Meadowbank House. The exact date of the move is to be confirmed. If you would like to be informed of the move date, please email customer.services@ros.gov.uk