This difference of ten percentage points is a marked improvement on the four percentage point difference observed in January. However, confidence in the Scottish housing market remains lower than it is in other areas of the UK.

The main difficulties concerning property buyers north of the border are job security, which was cited by 55 per cent of survey respondents, and difficulty in raising a deposit (42 per cent).

“It is encouraging that the level of consumer confidence in the Scottish housing market continues to improve, albeit from a very low base,” noted Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland. “This is consistent with the broad stability that we have been seeing in house prices in recent months.”

You may want to sell your home fast and relocate to Spain as property prices have been reduced in the Canary Islands, Málaga, Valencia and Madrid in the company’s quest to sell 9,000 houses this year. The reductions are an attempt to clear the build-up of assets currently owned by the bank by tempting property investors. The reduced properties include 500 newly built houses.

The 9,000 house sales Bankia Habitat is hoping for would be a dramatic increase on last year’s 4,285. Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista, described the changing climate in Spain’s real estate to A Place in the Sun: “After almost a decade of a bubble that many people denied existed we are seeing a collapse of prices that will continue throughout 2012 and probably into next year.”

New-build developments are a favourite with first-time property buyers and young families, so restarting these developments is an important step in getting things moving again in the local housing market.

One project already earmarked for a slice of the cash is the Dove Way development in East Staffordshire, with the council planning new industrial units and 56 new houses for the “long-standing priority” project.

Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) chairman Maitland Hyslop commented: “While no decisions have been made as yet, we have been in the process of prioritising projects based on their ability to deliver and do so in a short space of time.

“We look forward to making the selections and seeing the successful projects making a real difference.”

The LEP had previously been handed £7.6 million in funding back in November.

Targeting individuals and couples who can afford monthly mortgage repayments but are not able to muster a 25 per cent down payment, the scheme will also help those looking for a quick home sale, who have found potential buyers harder to find in the last few years

Each local authority in the Greater Manchester area will be free to specify who qualifies for the scheme, and may choose to underwrite up to 20 per cent of the mortgage to meet the lender’s requirements. Property buyers will therefore get a 95 per cent mortgage on terms similar to a 75 per cent loan

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese told the newspaper revealed the local authority is in talks with Co-operative Bank over a partnership in the deal. “Without being imprudent, there is no risk to council tax payers. We will work at providing affordable properties,” he said.

The personal allowance tax threshold reaches £8,105 on Friday (April 6th), but many families will be facing a freeze on child benefits and a cut to their tax credits while inflation remains high and wage growth is largely stagnant. Couples looking to claim working tax credit will now need to work at least 24 hours per week to qualify.

These changes may force families to look at debt management options, such as a quick home sale. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group technical officer Victoria Todd, meanwhile, has urged HM Revenue and Customs to provide a clearer picture of the tax rules.

The British Property Federation has highlighted an urgent need for government and insurers to maintain the current almost universal provision of flood cover. If this is not reinstated, around 200,000 homes in high risk areas will effectively be uninsurable. In the event of a flood, homeowners will face bills they cannot afford.

The current agreement between the government and the Association of British Insurers ends in June 2013, but will affect homeowners very shortly as insurance cover renewals will include June 2013 from this July onwards.

Chief executive of the British Property Federation Liz Peace warns: “This is a huge issue that is not getting the focus it needs, and time is running out.” She predicted trouble for homeowners, saying: “Uninsurable property may be difficult to sell.”

Ben Mitchell, partner at Peter Brett Associates, said that flooding is a very real threat that is “never far from the headlines particularly in the light of the potential impact of climate change on increased flood flows and rising sea levels.”

A typical two-year fixed product held a rate of 3.82 per cent in October 2011, but this has now risen to 4.15 per cent, or an extra £327.72 per year on average. As for five-year deals, the average rate has risen from 4.57 per cent to 4.72 per cent in January.

These rises have been compounded by announcements from a number of lenders, confirming the standard variable rate will also rise in the coming months. Clare Francis, mortgage expert at MoneySupermarket, commented: “Mortgage rates are nudging upwards so anyone looking for a mortgage or whose mortgage deal will end in the next few months should act sooner rather than later to secure one of the current rates in case they rise further.”

With this increase, the cost of running a home is approaching the £9,406 benchmark set in January 2008. Costs calculated include mortgage payments, council tax, utility bills and other associated outgoings, with the increased cost of gas and electricity cited as a major influence. For some, a quick home sale may be the best option to protect against these rising costs.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, points out that this rise has come in spite of falling average mortgage payments over the last year. He went on: “The prospect of declining consumer price inflation through much of 2012 may help the costs associated with running a home to ease as well, providing some welcome relief to homeowners.”

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that February’s gross lending is almost identical to January’s £10.65 billion, and is 14 per cent higher than it was in February last year, when the figure was £9.4 billion.

CML chief economist Bob Pannell warns that the usual seasonal decline of property buyers is still expected during the winter months, but says that “February was the seventh month in a row of higher year-on-year lending”.

Mr Pannell attributes the fast pace of lending for house purchase to the approaching end of the Stamp Duty concession.

However, the expert sees the NewBuy scheme as having the potential to balance out the slump in sales expected when the concession ends.

“The launch of the NewBuy scheme is an important addition to lenders’ toolkit in addressing the various needs of would-be borrowers,” Mr Pannell added. “The scheme has the potential to offset the dip in first-time buyer activity that the end of the stamp duty concession on March 24th may produce.”

A reduction in first-time buyers taking the plunge may see people needing to find alternative solutions to sell their existing property in order to move into the NewBuy homes.

“Low interest rates should be making it easier for people to meet their mortgage payments, but in fact high unemployment and the squeeze on living costs mean more and more people are struggling to keep a roof over their head,” Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, told the newspaper. The charity advised people to speak to their lenders as soon as possible if they are worried they may not be able to keep up their home loan commitments.

Those who are having trouble meeting mortgage repayments may also find Gateway Homes can offer a solution, by arranging a quick home sale that allows them to free up equity and move to a more affordable location.