New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed that landlords took out 45,000 mortgage loans before the introduction of the new stamp duty increase in April.

Figures from Nationwide have revealed that house prices rose in April but a significantly slower rate than in previous months, with the average UK property rising by 0.2% according to the nation’s largest building society.

There has been an increase in demand for properties in commuter locations throughout Scotland which is boosting the entire housing market in the country according to reports.

The prime real estate market in Scotland is expected to grow by around 19% in the next five years, with suburban properties expected to significantly increase in value. Such properties had struggled due to the demand for city centre living with the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) also proving to be a constraint for properties based in commuter areas. Studies had previously found that many properties in such areas valued between £400,000 and £1 million struggled to recover from the housing crisis and the new LBTT tax.

New data from the Registers of Scotland has shown that Scotland reached an eight-year high regarding the number of properties sold, with a 4.5% increase on 2014.