Scottish house prices: January 2018 update

As we enter 2018, new figures have been released showing that Scotland’s house prices are rising despite the fact the number of sales is decreasing.

The latest UK House Price Index showed that 9323 homes were sold in September 2017 – a decline of 2.5% on the same month in 2016 and 0.5% compared to August 2016. The five key local authorities for sales in Scotland show Edinburgh recording 1124 sales, Glasgow with 1067, Fife with 706, South Lanarkshire with 595 and North Lanarkshire with 451.

These decreases are not specific to Scotland, however. There were annual declines in sales volumes of 14.8% in England, 6.6% in Wales and 8.6% in Northern Ireland for the third quarter of 2017, suggesting that the figures are not concerning.

Registers of Scotland business development and information director Kenny Crawford, noted that this must be taken into account: “Residential sales volumes decreased in September” he admitted but “the annual decrease of 2.5% when compared with September 2016 in Scotland is in the context of greater decreases across the rest of the UK.”

However, in Scotland, in November 2017, the average house price was £145,992, an increase of 3.6% on the previous year and 1.1% on October 2017. It is worth noting this is much lower than the UK average of £226,071.

Looking to specific regions, in Glasgow, the average price of a property is now £122,800 with a 2% increase from the previous year. The more notable price increases were in West Dunbartonshire – 10.3% to £106,216 – East Lothian –  8.1% to £217,10 and Edinburgh: 8% to £246,508.

In contrast, there were some price decreases noted, and these were away from the Central Belt. In Aberdeen and Argyll and Bute – prices fell by 4.2% to £163,489 and 3.9% to £127,373 respectively.

Interestingly, these figures are not consistent across all types of property. Flat and maisonette properties were particularly popular across the country. In contrast, the average price of detached properties saw a drop of 3.6% to £235,744; this might be something to consider depending on your current property.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are now the fastest growing parts of the UK, although Aberdeen is amongst the lowest.

These statistics are good news for those who are looking sell properties in those high performing areas mentioned. They could see themselves making a bigger profit than has been possible in 10 years. However, it poses more difficulty for those looking to buy especially as very few lenders are willing to offer 100% mortgages.

As ever, our property experts are on hand to answer any of your questions about Scotland’s fast-moving property market.