This compares with property prices in the north of England as 8.1% below peak, according to the latest LSL Property Services/Acadata monthly index.
Overall average prices in Scotland are up £6,435 in a year taking the average house price to £161,873, the highest annual rise since October 2010. They are up 0.7% month on month.
House prices set a new record in Aberdeen City, up 17.1% over the last 12 months and in the first quarter of the year sales are up 25% compared to the same period in 2013.
‘The recovery in Scotland has now taken a stronger grip than in the northern most regions of England. Just south of the border lies a reminder of the challenging road back from the depths of the recession, with the average price in the North of England still lingering 8.1% below their 2007/2008 pre-crisis peaks,’ said Donald MacLellan, chairman of Walker Fraser Steele Chartered Surveyors, part of LSL Property Services.
He pointed out that the Help to Buy scheme and buoyed demand from first time buyers has been the catalyst spurring forward the Scottish market. ‘Sustained growth is bedding down across the country and on an annual basis, average property prices have risen in 66% of all areas of Scotland,’ he explained.
‘The revived confidence at the bottom of the property ladder is rising up through the rungs, emboldening home movers to take the plunge after years of hesitation,’ added MacLellan.
The highest increase in sales has been in classic family semi detached homes, rising 28%. As activity levels strengthen throughout the price ranges, overall sales in Scotland are up 25% in the first three months of 2014 compared to the same time last year.
‘House building initiatives and replenished supply are also greasing the wheels on the highway of recovery. New waterside developments and a fresh wave of housing stock in Inverclyde have helped raise average house prices in the area by 19.6% over the past year, the highest annual growth experienced in Scotland,’ said MacLellan.
‘However, there’s still a note of caution and the recovery still requires nurturing. There are corners of the country where the feel good factor has yet to be seen,’ he added.
He gave as an example Midlothian, just outside Edinburgh, where average house prices have dropped 10.8% annually and 3.3% month on month, and Glasgow where prices fell 3.2% in March compared with February.
‘By keeping interest rates at a historic low, the Bank of England is maintaining the steady cost of borrowing and supporting housing market growth. But whether the uncertain fiscal impact of an independent Scotland will have ramifications for the wider recovery remain to be seen,’ said MacLellan.
