Average Scottish house prices increase by 6.7 per cent in a year

This compares to a UK average of £224,144, which was an increase of 4.2 per cent on March in the previous year and virtually unchanged when compared to the previous month, the latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) from the Registers of Scotland has shown.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in January 2018 was 5,909 – a decrease of 7.4 per cent on January 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 12.0 per cent in England and 7.3 per cent in Wales in January 2018, and 12.4 per cent in Northern Ireland Quarter 1 – 2018.

Average price increases were recorded in the vast majority (27) of local authorities in March 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in Falkirk, City of Edinburgh and West Lothian, where average prices increased by 12.7 per cent to £123,800, 12.5 per cent to £252,992 and 12.0 per cent to £153,550 respectively. Decreases were recorded in Aberdeen City and Inverclyde where prices fell by 2.1 per cent to £160,464 and 1.4 per cent to £97,924 respectively.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in less than one quarter (7) of local authorities in January 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in Stirling and East Ayrshire, where volumes increased by 21.0 per cent to 121 sales and 11.3 per cent to 128 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Moray, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, where volumes fell by 32.8 per cent to 86 sales, 25.1 per cent to 191 sales and 24.7 per cent to 216 sales respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in March 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.6 per cent to £121,637. The average price of flatted properties showed an increase of 5.9 per cent to £104,160, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in March 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £117,837 – an increase of 6.2 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £175,306 – an increase of 7.1 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £134,530 – an increase of 6.2 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £151,344 – an increase of 6.9% on the previous year.