House purchase activity in Scotland continued to pick up in the final three months of 2009, according to new data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders today.

There were 14,200 loans for house purchase in the fourth quarter (worth £1.6 billion), up 4 percent by number and 5 percent by value from the preceding three months.

Growth in the Scottish market was a little slower than in the UK as a whole – which saw a 9 percent increase in house purchase activity in the fourth quarter and a 62 percent increase year on year.

As a result of the slower upturn, Scotland’s share of all house purchase loans fell to 8 percent in the quarter, the lowest share in nearly three years. The 9% share for 2009 as a whole was down from a high of 12% in 2008.

As in the rest of the UK, many borrowers in Scotland will still find it difficult to access the more attractive new deals, which are typically only available to those with large deposits.

However, the rebound in prices and slight relaxation of lending criteria will mean that more should become eligible for these products in 2010.

Commenting on the data, CML Scotland policy consultant Kennedy Foster said:

“We do not anticipate an increase in lending activity immediately. Funding conditions remain challenging, economic recovery is fragile both in Scotland and in the UK as a whole, and with little likelihood of interest rates rising this side of an election, many on low variable rates have little incentive to remortgage.

“A combination of bad weather in the early part of the year and the end of the stamp duty holiday will also have affected housing market activity, and will reinforce the slow start to 2010. However, the situation is much improved on a year ago, and a gradual improvement in market conditions and the wider economy should support a modest increase in activity later in the year.”