Major discounts aim to get house market moving

Edinburgh properties owned by housebuilders are to be put up for sale at discounted prices, under a new initiative launched this week.

Warners solicitors and estate agents is teaming up with a group of housebuilders to help market several dozen part-exchange homes at prices below their home report valuations.

The homes are on the builders' books following deals agreed with their previous owners and the scheme is designed to help push through sales to allow the part-exchange schemes to continue operating.

There are discounts of up to 35,000 on the properties, with combined savings totalling 218,000, claimed Ross Leslie, part exchange sales manager at Warners.

"One of the biggest problems in Scotland is the lack of new homes or developments that are being built. This is because many housebuilders across the country are struggling to sell the properties that they currently have in their portfolios and they do not want to commit to the expense of starting new housing schemes," he said.