Back in the late 1960s, life was different – and so was finding your dream home. Now we have the internet and apps to provide us with details of new properties that fit our specifications, but back in the 60s, a lot of legwork was involved.

Home hunters had to check each solicitor firm’s properties for sale, either by going to each firm, or telephoning, to see if there were any suitable properties – and that was time consuming. It could mean you might miss details of your perfect home.

Over coffee in mid-1968, William Sutherland of Smith and Sutherland, Ronald McKinnon of Milne and McKinnon and Frank Connon of Campbell Connon, had the inspiration of creating a hub where people could inspect  details of properties for sale by all local solicitor firms – and so, the Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre was born. 14 February marks the official launch of ASPC.

A lot has changed in the housing market over the decades since the launch of ASPC.

The price of houses

Fifty years ago, the average home cost £2,507. Now, that amount might not cover a deposit.

Research from Halifax found that property prices rose by 273% in real terms between 1959 and 2009. In the same period, the growth in real earnings was 169%.

The increase in prices has mainly been led by four big property booms: 1971-73, 1977-1980, 1985-89 and 1998-2007.

For those who are looking for a new property, it is now more important than ever to begin saving in advance for a deposit, and to make sure you know how much you can save for a house. Our mortgage calculator can help show how much you would need to pay each month.

Better plumbing

In the 60s, quite a few flats did not have indoor toilets – nowadays, we consider ourselves hard done by if a new-build property doesn’t have an en-suite bathroom!

Central heating was a rarity, just coming into vogue in the early 70s. Because of the dilapidated state of rented accommodation, the late 60s saw the Government introduce improvement grants, where, the installation of bathrooms and kitchens, to improve flatted accommodation, allowed the owner to apply for (and, normally, be granted) a grant towards the cost of the improvements. This enlightened move saw a huge improvement in flats.

Online search

The biggest change in the housing market is how we search! ASPC was the first solicitors’ property centre, and was followed by similar ventures across Scotland.

Since then, the launch of the internet has radically changed the way we search – and ASPC’s website is an invaluable help in finding your dream home. As well as being able to go into our Aberdeen showroom, and pick up our print registers, house hunters can search for their dream property, set up saved searches for their ideal home, and download ASPC’s app to search.

We’re looking forward to celebrating our 50 year anniversary in 2019