The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
REGISTERS of Scotland’s House Price Index for May shows the average price of a property in Scotland to be £149,004, an increase of almost five per cent compared to
May 2017. The average price for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £121,183 (up five per cent year-on-year), while the average for an established owner-occupier property was £177,349, an increase of 4.9 per cent on last year.
However, the number of home movers has declined to 2016 levels. According to Bank of Scotland only 15,300 current home owners moved in the first half of 2018, which the bank’s mortgage director, Graham Blair, attributes to low availability of the ‘right type’ of properties for those looking to step up, in addition to rising prices and larger deposits.
FRUIT OF THE ROOM
A PIONEERING residential development in Moray will be the first in Scotland to offer the option of having Apple smart home technology fitted as part of the build.
Award-winning housebuilder, Trivselhus, one of the top luxury house builders in Sweden, has collaborated with Apple to deliver the very best in energy-efficient design combined with the latest in smart home technology to its four bedroomed homes at the Darklass Estate near the picturesque town of Forres.
The groundbreaking niche development will feature just seven unique homes, designed to make the most of their natural rural setting and drawn from an original concept by internationally acclaimed architect Niall McLaughlin.
Trivselhus uses an innovative Climate Shield® building system with a ‘fabric first’ approach where energy saving features are embedded into the fabric of the building from the very start.
Windows, doors and service conduits are fitted during the build, reducing the margins of error and producing an airtight shell.
And at extra cost, buyers can opt for their homes to be fitted with the Apple HomeKit to make their home best work for them. The four bedroomed houses being built are available through Strutt & Parker’s Inverness office at offers over £425,000.