The property market in Aberdeen has seen an improvement in Quarter 2 (April-June), with sales in the region increasing by an average of 12.7%.

Semi-detached properties saw the biggest increase, with 21% more sales compared to the first three months of the year (505 compared to 417), according to our quarterly research carried out in association with the Centre for Real Estate Research, University of Aberdeen.

This is a welcome sign: spring is usually the most popular time to move house and it is good to see this trend continue even during a period of economic downturn. This shows that our market remains encouragingly resilient.

Another indication of resilience is provided by the activity on the ASPC website where, so far in 2016, there have been 6 million visits to the website. There are, on average, 40,000 visits a day to the site. ASPC’s website is ahead of, or equal to, national sites for our local areas and almost two thirds of properties inserted sell within 100 days.

This is all heartening for sellers, and there is also positive news for those looking to buy a house – and in particular those putting their first foot on the property ladder.

Our research found a slight decrease in house prices over the past three months, in Aberdeen City and suburbs.

For those looking to get onto the property market, this slight decrease is helpful. Additionally there are some all-time low rates available on mortgages, with a reasonable prospect of rates remaining low for some years. While we feel a little exposed, here, it is worth pointing out that it is not just Aberdeen that has recorded a dip in house prices: the latest figures from the Registers of Scotland has noted that across the country, prices are down by 2.3% compared to the previous year.

We will be waiting to see what Q3 has in store for property buyers and sellers.