The figures from the Registers of Scotland also show that prices are down by 8.4% compared to the previous year, bringing the average price to £159,198.
A total of 19,802 properties changed hands between January and March, the highest volume of sales for these months since 2007/2008 and the total value of sales across Scotland increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year to just over £3.15 billion.
‘We've seen a sustained increase in the volume of sales throughout the 2015/2016 financial year,’ said Registers of Scotland director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford.
‘This time last year, we saw a spike in house prices, with an increase in the number of high value property sales. By comparison, this year has seen an increase in the volume of lower value properties being sold, which may account for this year's lower average price. Future sales statistics will determine whether this is a one-off decrease, or whether this is a trend that will continue,’ he added.
The city of Edinburgh was the largest market, with sales of over £554.6 million for the quarter, up 3.3 while Midlothian recorded the highest increase in value, with sales of over £63 million, an increase of 56.5% compared with the same quarter last year. Aberdeen City showed the largest decrease in market value, down 22.7% to £162.7 million.
The highest percentage rise in the volume of sales was in Midlothian, with an annual increase of 48% and Edinburgh recorded the highest volume with growth of 22.4% compared to the same quarter the previous year.
The largest percentage fall in volume of sales was in East Renfrewshire, down 14.5%. East Renfrewshire also recorded the highest average property price at £222,303 but this was down 7.9% on last year.
The largest percentage rise was seen in North Lanarkshire, where the average property price rose 6.6% to £116,738. The highest percentage fall was recorded in East Lothian, with an average price of £207,276, a fall of 16.5% on last year.
All property types showed an increase in sales volumes, with flats showing the biggest increase at 24.2%. They also all showed a decrease in average price this quarter, with detached properties showing the biggest decrease, down 11.6% to £236,249. Semi-detached, terraced, and flatted properties showed price decreases of 8.5%, 10.5% and 7.4% respectively.
According to Michelle Grant, investment director at Grant Property, the increase in volume sales reflects what the firm is seeing on the ground. ‘Our buyers are experiencing high levels of competition when trying to secure prime city centre properties on behalf of investors,’ she said.
‘In Glasgow we are bidding against on average eight people for each property and in Edinburgh it can be as high as 20. We have also recently seen properties selling for as much as 15% over the asking price in Glasgow and as much as 30% in Edinburgh,’ she pointed out.
‘This positive increase could be attributed to supply, increased salaries, affordability and low inflation,’ she added.
Property consultancy, CKD Galbraith, has had a similar experience and also said it has seen an increasing number of national and international buyers choosing to purchase property in Scotland and a steady rise in the overall volume of sales achieved compared to the same period in 2015.
The firm is also reporting a significant level of movement across the UK with 57% of buyers coming from within Scotland, 36% of buyers coming from across the rest of the UK and the remaining 7% representing international buyers.
‘There is little doubt that we are continuing to see a resurgence in the Scottish property market, and the national figures from Registers of Scotland reflect CKD Galbraith’s own statistics across the country,’ said Simon Brown, partner and head of residential sales at CKD Galbraith.
‘We have experienced a number of trends in recent months, with rural homes proving particularly popular especially when there is land to accompany the property. We are seeing hotspots in Fife, the Borders and Ayrshire as buyers look to get more for their money whilst remaining within easy commuting distance to towns and to Edinburgh and Glasgow,’ he explained.
‘There has also been a notable increase in national and international buyers, which is a reflection of the wide appeal of the Scottish property market. However, accurate regional pricing remains key and with this in mind, we are optimistic for the rest of 2016,’ he added.
