With the uncertainty surrounding the referendum vote behind it, the Scottish housing market has seen a rise in activity, according to the RICS UK Residential Market Survey.

Scottish house price growth remained steady as demand soared during October.

Blair Stewart, Partner at Strutt & Parker in Edinburgh, said: “Many areas of Scotland, especially Edinburgh, have seen a surge in properties coming onto the market.

“The double whammy of a ‘No’ vote in the Independence Referendum, which has provided stability which was lacking in the lead up to September 18, and the new Land & Building Transaction Tax that will see increased taxation on properties sold for more than £350,000 coming into force on 1 April 2015, are the main factors in the increased activity on the housing market north of the border.”

Sunnier outlook

Across Scotland new buyer demand witnessed a steep growth, with 81% more surveyors reporting an increase in new buyer enquiries as activity intensified following September's referendum result.

Meanwhile, across the rest of the UK demand dipped to a net balance of -18%.

In addition to stronger buyer interest, sales expectations remain positive with a net balance of 55% of chartered surveyors predicting a rise in sales over the next three months.

Significantly, Scotland and Northern Ireland had the most optimistic view on house prices in the run up to Christmas (with net balances of chartered surveyors of 36% and 37% predicting a rise respectively).

More homes for sale

Housing stock coming onto the market also saw the largest monthly increase this year with 39% of respondents reporting an increase in new instructions during October.

However, despite this increase in supply, demand for property continues to outpace it. This was further witnessed in the lettings market where tenant demand continues to grow strongly across the UK.

Over the last quarter, this has particularly been the case in Scotland and rent expectations remain generally firm, with respondents’ anticipating an increase of around 2.5% over the next twelve months across the UK as a whole.

Despite the pick-up in the sales market, demand to rent property is growing and coupled with a drop in supply of new stock to let this is helping to underpin the rental outlook for landlords pretty much across Scotland.

Land tax changes

Sarah Speirs, Director RICS Scotland, believes that last month’s announcement on the land and buildings transaction tax may have had an impact on the higher end of the market.

However, she welcomed the post-referendum confidence in the market which has seen a surge in activity, both in demand for property and an increase in homes coming onto the market.