Average house prices  across the UK fell by 0.2% in March compared to the previous month, according to the latest House Price Index. On an annual basis however, average prices have risen by 4.2%, taking the average value of a property in the UK to £224,144. 

Looking at the figures on a country and regional level, Scotland apparently showed the highest annual growth at 6.7%, down from 6.8% in the previous month. The second fastest growing region was the East of England at 5.8%. The lowest annual growth was in London, which recorded negative annual price growth for the second consecutive month at -0.7%, down from -0.1% in the previous month.

Scotland’s figures

According to Registers of Scotland, the average price of a property in Scotland in March 2018 was £146,009.

The majority (27) of local authority areas in Scotland experienced average price increases in March, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in Falkirk, City of Edinburgh and West Lothian, where average prices increased by 12.7% to £123,800, 12.5% to £252,992 and 12.0% to £153,550 respectively. However, Aberdeen City and Inverclyde both saw a fall in average prices of 2.1% to £160,464 and 1.4% to £97,924 respectively.

There were 5,909 residential sales in January 2018, which is a fall of 7.4% on January 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 12.0% in England and 7.3% in Wales, and 12.4% in Northern Ireland Quarter 1 - 2018.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in less than one quarter (seven) of local authorities in January 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in Stirling and East Ayrshire, where volumes increased by 21.0% to 121 sales and 11.3% to 128 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Moray, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, where volumes fell by 32.8% to 86 sales, 25.1% to 191 sales and 24.7% to 216 sales respectively.

“Residential sales volumes decreased in January,” commented Registers of Scotland Business Development and Information Director, Kenny Crawford. “The annual decrease of 7.4% when compared with January 2017 in Scotland is in the context of large decreases across the rest of the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April 2017 to January 2018 – was 87,097. This is an increase of 5.7% on the equivalent year to date position in the previous financial year 2016/17.”

Property Types

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in March 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.6% to £121,637. The average price of flatted properties showed an increase of 5.9% to £104,160, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in March 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £117,837 – 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 £175,306 – an increase of 7.1% on the previous year.

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