(378)  CONVEYANCING SUMMER BLUES

The average price for a residential property in Scotland increased again in the last quarter (April to June) and is now £108,238, according to figures released on 27 August 2004 by Registers of Scotland.  The increase is a rise of 19.3 per cent from the same quarter last year and an increase of 1.2 per cent on the previous quarter.  The highest figure is in the Edinburgh area where the average price paid is £144,685, an increase of 3.5 per cent on the previous quarter.   As house prices thus appear to continue to roar ever upward in Scotland, and in particular in the Edinburgh area, so the media has begun to highlight concerns about the Scottish conveyancing system and the extent to which it appears to facilitate gazumping”