Scotland’s house prices rise amid declining sales volume
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Scotland’s average house price has risen to £187,150 in April 2023, marking a 2.0% rise compared to the same month the previous year, according to provisional data from the UK House Price Index (HPI).
Comparative monthly data indicates an increase of 1.3% in Scottish house prices between March and April 2023 on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, whilst on a seasonally adjusted basis, the increase was a more modest 0.5%.
These rises mirror the broader UK trend, with house prices increasing by 0.5% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, and 0.4% seasonally adjusted in the same period. The average price of a UK property stood at £286,489, an annual rise of 3.5%.
Despite the house price increase, the volume of residential sales in Scotland experienced a significant drop. February 2023 registered 5,365 sales, marking a 16.6% decrease from February 2022’s provisional estimate.
Chris Kerr Registers of Scotland registration and policy director said: “Average house prices for Scotland increased by 2.0% in the 12 months to April 2023. However, Scotland’s annual house price inflation has generally been slowing since the recent peak of 13.4% in the 12 months to April 2022, and has shown slower growth than the average for the UK since July 2022.
“This is the fifth consecutive month where the volume of residential sales has decreased, following a general downward trend in volumes over the past 18 months.”
In a year-to-year comparison for April 2023, all property types in Scotland registered an increase in average price. Semi-detached properties led the surge, rising by 3.3% to £200,959. Meanwhile, terraced houses showed a more subdued annual increase of 1.2%, bringing their average price to £157,036.
On a local authority level, 24 out of 32 areas reported price increases compared to the previous year, using a three-month moving average. East Lothian recorded the most substantial increase, with prices soaring by 17.2% to £333,715. Conversely, the City of Aberdeen registered the largest decrease, with prices dipping by 7.0% to £133,954.
In April 2023, East Lothian emerged as the highest-priced area to purchase property in Scotland, whilst North Ayrshire remained the most affordable, with average prices at £333,715 and £117,820 respectively.
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