Scotland's buy-to-let market 'looking strong'

Now could be a good time to buy a house in Scotland if it is intended to be rented out, following comments from the National Landlords Association (NLA).

David Kendall, the NLA’s regional representative for Scotland, said that the outlook for the buy-to-let market north of the border is good.

"From a rental point of view the outlook is excellent. Yields are increasing and rental void’s decreasing, which is good news," Mr Kendall said.

He also suggested that anyone looking to buy a house in Scotland would be entering into a generally "stable" market, steering clear of some of the pitfalls that can be found in the south of Great Britain.

Mr Kendall pointed to the south-east of England, which has what he describes as a "boom and bust cycle".

According to the Bank of Scotland’s Scottish House Price Index for the fourth quarter of 2007, the average price of a property was £144,897, 26 per cent less than the UK average of £197,071.