Average property prices in Scotland up almost 4% year on year, official data shows

Average house prices in Scotland increased by 3.9% year on year in August but fell 0.7% month on month, according to the latest official figures from the Registers of Scotland.

This took the average price of a home to £146,354 and the data also shows that sales increased by 19.3% in the year to June 2017 and were up 26.2% month on month.

‘Residential sales volumes have taken a boost in June, with volumes hitting a five figure total for the first time since March 2016,’ said Registers of Scotland registration and transformation director Charles Keegan.

But he pointed out that the 2016 figure is likely to have been enhanced by house buyers seeking to finalise purchases prior to the introduction of changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax that came into effect on 01 April 2016.

He added that average prices in Scotland have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

The top five local authorities in terms of sales volumes were Glasgow, followed by Edinburgh, Fife, South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire.

Average price increases were recorded in 28 out of 32 local authorities in August 2017, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increase was in Edinburgh with a rise of 10.4% £246,611.

The biggest decreases were in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City where prices fell by 5.7% to £188,876 and by 4.8% to £167,903 respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types, with the exception of detached properties, showed an increase in average price in August 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year.

Flats recorded the biggest increase, rising by 8.4% to £108,772 while the average price of detached properties decreased by 1.9% to £240,241.

The average price in August 2017 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £120,824, an increase of 6.2% compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £171,611, an increase of 1.5%.

The average price for a cash sale was £135,802, an increase of 4.7% on the previous year while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £151,197, an increase of 3.5%.