£5bn worth of property sold in Q3 as Scottish market swells by £500m - Aberdein Considine

The average home in Scotland is now setting back buyers £209,922, according to estate agents Aberdein Considine’s latest Property Monitor of Scotland’s housing market, which shows more than £5 billion worth of property changed hands between July and September.

House prices in Glasgow rose by 6 per cent during the period, while East Renfrewshire now boasts the highest average house price in the country at £261,512 during, up 5.9 per cent on the same time last year.

This means the Glasgow suburb has now pulled out ahead of Edinburgh, where average prices increased 6.6 per cent year-on-year for Q3 to £257,220.

Douglas Telfer, Partner at Aberdein Considine in Glasgow, said the country as a whole saw sales rise by more than 8 per cent year-on-year and are up almost £500 million on the previous quarter.

He said: “The property market in Scotland is enjoying a spell of growth not seen since the halcyon days prior to the financial crash of 2007/08.”

“More than 28,000 homes changed hands during the third quarter of the year, up nearly 4 per cent on the same period last year and almost 2,000 more than Q2.

Property prices in Perth and Kinross soared during the last quarter to overtaken oil-rich Aberdeen for the first time, although the Granite City has seen its first price rises for two years as the recovery in the oil and gas industry begins to be felt.

Perth and Kinross saw the average cost of a home climb to £203,398 which now compares favourably to the £200,832 cost of a home in Aberdeen.

The latest increases in Perth & Kinross mark a 6.1 per cent year-on-year rises and follows a near 10 per cent rise recorded during the second quarter and was described as the most sustained period of price growth in the region since the financial crash a decade ago.

James McKay, manager of the firm’s Perth office, attributed rising prices in the region to a shortage of stock coming on to the market.

“There has been upward pressure on selling prices in Perth and the surrounding areas all year due to a lack of homes available for sale,” Mr McKay said.

“This has resulted in many of the properties coming to market selling within days or sometimes hours – and often for well in excess of home report value.”

Meanwhile, prices in Aberdeen have risen, albeit modestly, for the first time in two years.

The average cost of a home in the city increased just 0.1 per cent over the last 12 months to stand at the £200,832 figure.

However, the move does mark the first year-on-year growth since 2015 when prices began to plummet as the oil and gas downturn hit the region and tens of thousands of jobs were lost.

Aberdein Considine also found that the number of sales in Aberdeenshire increased for the second consecutive quarter, despite being one of only four areas in the country to record a fall in prices.

More than 1,110 homes were sold between July and September, a 5.7 per cent increase on the sales volume over the same three months in 2016.

Robert Fraser, a senior property partner at Aberdein Considine, said: “I think we are seeing the first tangible signs of the north-east market bottoming out and tentative signs of a recovery.

“However, these figures need to be taken in context, as the comparative figures they are against are some of the lowest we’ve seen in recent years.

“More favourable oil prices have resulted in some good recent activity with an increase in the number of properties over £500,000 being sold compared with the last few years.

“If the oil price can be sustained, I would expect this to be reflected in a stronger market next year with particular activity in spring – although I expect that the recovery will be gradual rather than sudden.”

Mr Fraser added: “The property market in Scotland as a whole is enjoying a spell of growth not seen since the halcyon days prior to the financial crash of 2007-08. More than 28,000 homes changed hands during the third quarter of the year, up nearly 4% on the same period last year and almost 2,000 more than Q2.”

“If the oil price can be sustained, I would expect a stronger market.”

However, the firm also found that the Western Isles experienced a 3.8 per cent drop in average house prices to £107,992 – the lowest in Scotland.