It means that the average price of a home has increased by £5.584 since a year ago and is up 0.2% month on month, taking the average house price to £160,678, the LSL/Acadata index.
The index also shows that all seven cities in Scotland have house price growth over the past year with prices in Aberdeen up 12% since February 2013 and Inverclyde topping the table for both sales and price rises.
‘Help to Buy has been the spark driving the engine of recovery for the Scottish housing market. Since launching at the tail end of 2013, the scheme has helped thousands get a foot on the ladder,’ said Gordon Fowlis, regional managing director of Your Move, an estate agency chain that is part of LSL.
‘With sustained growth taking hold, there are now signs that the independence debate is less likely to rock the housing recovery boat. However, there’s still some uncertainty surrounding the ramifications of an independent Scotland for the banking sector. The potential fiscal impact may be felt in mortgage accessibility and employment stability, which in turn could have a knock on effect on housing,’ he explained.
He pointed out that over the past year average prices have climbed by over £5,500, with Inverclyde seeing the greatest annual growth of all, at 16%, with the region clearly benefitting from its close proximity to Glasgow.
In a sign of the widespread revival, all seven Scottish cities have also seen price rises from last year. ‘This urban renaissance is being driven by first time buyers benefitting from Help to Buy, typically taking the plunge in vibrant cities. Aberdeen in particular has seen the average house price climb by 12% over the past 12 months and it has its own micro economy. The same trend is being seen across metropolitan areas in England, with places like Manchester also seeing positive growth,’ said Fowlis.
‘Under Help to Buy more people have been able to move from rental properties into their own home, and this has created a ripple effect unlocking greater movement further up the ladder,’ he added.
Inverclyde also topped the sales table, with transactions in the three months to February climbing by 56% compared to a year ago. But there are also indications that the first time buyer market is starting to lose some steam. In the three months to February, flats, the archetypal home of new buyers, saw the smallest uplift in sales. Last summer the opposite was true.
‘The next few months will be a testing time. The debate is sure to ramp up in intensity as we edge ever closer to September and all eyes are on Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s next move for housing. But for now Scotland can simply revel in a revived property market,’ he concluded.
