House prices in Scotland increased by 5.1% in the 12 months to September and by 1.9% month on month to an average of £184,030, the latest index data shows.
The figures from the Your Move index show that the property market in Scotland is outperforming England and Wales where prices fell by 0.1% over the same 12 month period.
The highest price rise was in Inverclyde with annual growth of 12.2% to £134,074, followed by a year on year rise of 12% in Argyll and Bute to a record price of £166,094.
There was also strong growth in Edinburgh with prices up by 9.6% year on year and 6.6% month on month to £287,473, including six sales worth more than £2 million in August and September compared to only four in Scotland in the whole of 2017.
Prices in Glasgow also increased by 9.6% year on year and by 3.3% month on month to an average of £166,094, a new peak for the city.
Inverclyde is among the cheaper areas to buy a home in Scotland, with an average price of £138,074 with the cheapest overall being West Dunbartonshire, where prices are £119,725.
At the top end of the market, meanwhile, East Dunbartonshire, the third most expensive area, and Midlothian, the fifth, are also showing strong, above average growth, with annual prices up 7.5% and 7.9% respectively.
But prices fell month on month in some areas, down by 3.1% in the Borders where they are also down 3.6% year on year, down 2.5% in Clacmannanshire, down 3.2% in South Aryshire, flat in Aberdeen.
Prices also fell by 1.9% in West Dunbartonshire, by 0.9% in Orkney, by 0.1% in East Dunbartonshire, by 1.4% in Renfrewshire, by 0.4% in South Lanarkshire, by 1.8% in Falkirk, by 1.3% in Dundee, by 1.5% in West Lothian and by 3.3% in Stirling where prices are also down by 3.7% year on year.
According to Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, relatively little stock is coming onto the market as many potential sellers are deciding to sit tight. Indeed, new instructions in Scotland are the lowest in the UK.
‘This is unfortunately largely the reason behind creeping house prices, but it is also resulting in low transaction levels. On the properties that are being sold, these are at the very high end and largely focused in Edinburgh,’ said Campbell.
Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, one of Scotland’s oldest firms of chartered surveyors and part of the LSL group of companies, believes that Scotland is testing the limits of whether a market can be strong while largely inactive.
‘Home owners are in no rush to put their properties onto the market, and we’re seeing a significant shortage of stock,’ he said.
