MONITORING LOW-COST HOME OWNERSHIP INITIATIVES - A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF HOUSING-MARKET TRENDS WITHIN THE PRIVATIZED AREAS OF 4 COUNCIL-BUILT ESTATES IN SCOTLAND

This paper is concerned with monitoring the longer-term housing market trends within the privatised areas of four local authority housing estates on the periphery of major Scottish cities. The study areas in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee were the subject of disposal initiatives to promote low-cost home ownership in the mid-to-late 1980s. The analysis focuses mainly upon trends in mortgage possession and house price appreciation, based upon information obtained from the Register of Sasines and the Land Register. The results provide specific evidence of high levels of mortgage possession among initial purchasers as well as low rates of capital appreciation in respect of property values. In general, the findings point to the need for caution in the expansion of low-cost home ownership initiatives, effective counselling to prospective buyers at the time of purchase, and provision of intensive support once the household's financial difficulties have begun to mount.