Average property prices in Scotland up 3.5% year on year

Average property prices in Scotland increased by 3.5% to £167,765 in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous year, according to the latest data from the Registers of Scotland.

It means that the average price of a home is now at its highest for this quarter since Registers of Scotland began compiling quarterly statistics in 2003.

The highest rise was 10.1% recorded in West Dunbartonshire, taking the average price to £120,822, while Edinburgh recorded the highest average at £237,286, a rise of 4.4% compared with the same quarter the previous year.

The largest percentage fall in price was in East Renfrewshire, with a drop of 7% taking the average price to £216,565.

Sales of property across Scotland increased by of 1.6% on the same quarter the previous year, the highest volume of sales for this quarter since 2008.

Glasgow saw the biggest rise in the number of sales with an increase of 17.6% compared to the same period in the previous year. This increase brought Glasgow above Edinburgh in terms of volume with 3,035 residential house sales compared to 3,002 in Edinburgh. This is the first time that the volume of Glasgow sales have exceeded those in Edinburgh since quarter four of 2012.

Aberdeenshire sae the biggest decrease in the number of sales with a fall of 18% as in Aberdeenshire, and the total value of sales across Scotland increased by 5.1% compared to the previous year to over £4.14 billion, the highest value of sales for this quarter since 2008.

Edinburgh was the largest market with sales of over £712 million for the quarter, an increase of 6.4% on the previous year. West Dunbartonshire recorded the highest increase in value with sales of over £45 million, an increase of 27% compared with the same quarter last year.

In terms of type, flats showed the biggest increase in average house price in this quarter, up 4.7% to £133,790. Semi-detached properties also showed an increase of 1.8% on the previous year. Meanwhile detached and terraced properties saw decreases in average house prices of 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.

Semi-detached properties and flats both showed an increase in sales volumes, with flats showing the biggest increase at 6.9%. Detached and terraced properties showed a decrease in sales volumes with terraced properties showing the biggest decrease of 3.7%.

Property consultancy, CKD Galbraith, said that its own research shows a similar pattern and Simon Brown, partner and head of residential sales at CKD Galbraith, said it is an encouraging picture for the Scottish property market as a whole which has witnessed steady growth over the first half of 2015.

‘The market has improved somewhat post-referendum and we have witnessed a surge in viewings being conducted, the numbers of prospective buyers registering with us and the number of properties coming onto the market, all highlighting a real boost in market confidence both from sellers and buyers alike,’ he explained.

‘We believe this will continue as the market gains additional momentum after the summer holiday period,’ he added.

http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/scotland-property-price-index-2015072910803.html