Despite widespread media reports of a UK-wide downturn in the housing sector, the housing market in Coatbridge remains firmly on the right track.

According to Neil Thomson, a partner in the Coatbridge office of J&E Shepherd, Chartered Surveyors, the fact that the three-year £300 million Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link project is scheduled for completion in December 2010, means that Coatbridge’s forthcoming enhanced transport infrastructure means that there’s little prospect of the town’s housing market hitting the buffers.

He said, “Recent cuts in interest rates have helped boost confidence and, having got off to an encouraging start, there’s a distinct mood of optimism about the level of activity within Coatbridge’s housing market throughout 2008.

“That activity is probably most buoyant at the lower end of the housing market, where demand is particularly strong for former local authority stock and prices are showing steady levels of growth. This demand is fuelled partly by a buoyant buy-to-let market, where investors are attracted by the prospect of realising higher yields of return from lower value properties.

“In turn, that buy-to-let market is being fuelled partly by a buoyant demand for rental accommodation from tenants from overseas, particularly Poland. There’s little doubt that the welcome addition of an immigrant population into Coatbridge to help fill local skill gaps has helped make properties easier to rent, reduced the risk of rental voids and made buy-to-let a very attractive proposition or investors.”

Mr Thomson reports that two and three bed former local authority houses, whether terraced or semi-detached, are currently priced at around £80,000 and £110,000, depending on size and location. Demand for such properties situated within the Cliftonville area of Coatbridge remains as robust as ever, whilst prices have arguably risen highest within Whifflet.

Demand remains steady too for mid-market properties in Coatbridge, with modern three bed semi-detached houses selling for between £135,000 and £155,000, depending on which particular part of town it’s located.

Meanwhile, with considerable new build activity at the higher end of the housing market in Coatbridge over recent years from various developers, four and five bed detached properties are currently valued at around £200,000 to £250,000.

Neil Thomson