The average price of a property in Scotland in February 2017 was £138,821, according to the latest UK House Price Index (UK HPI). This is an increase of 3.1% compared to February last year but a decrease of 0.6% compared to January 2017.

UK Figures

In England, the UK HPI shows that average house prices rose by 7.3% in February compared to the previous year, taking the average property value to £234,466. Monthly house prices have risen by 0.8% since January 2017.

Wales experienced an annual price increase of 1.8%, which takes the average property value to £145,293. Monthly house prices have fallen by 0.9% since January 2017.

Across the UK as a whole, the average property value reached £217,502 in February 2017, which equates to an annual price rise of 5.8% and a monthly rise of 0.6%.

The latest figures on the volume of residential sales in Scotland show that in December 2016 there were 8,361 sales, which is an increase of 6.5% compared to December 2015 but a decrease of 2.7% compared to the previous month.

The rest of the UK experienced annual decreases in sales volumes, with numbers falling by 19% in England, 6.9% in Wales and 17.6% in Northern Ireland.

House Prices Show General Upward Trend

“Average prices continue to hold steady,” commented Registers of Scotland director of commercial services Kenny Crawford. “February 2017 has continued the general upward trend seen in 2016, when every month – with the exception of March – showed an increase in average price when compared with the same month of the previous year.”

“Sales volumes figures for December 2016 showed an increase in Scotland of 6.5% when compared with December 2015,” he said. “This is up by 30.8% when compared with December 2014, up by 17.2% when compared with December 2013 and up by 44.3% when compared with December 2012.”

Regional Figures

The top five local authorities in terms of sales volumes were City of Edinburgh (1,002 sales), Glasgow City (977 sales), Fife (570 sales), South Lanarkshire (479 sales) and North Lanarkshire (454 sales).

Looking at price movements on a regional level, the UK HPI shows that the biggest price increase in February 2017 compared to February 2016 was in East Dunbartonshire, where average prices increased by 9.4% to £195,967. The City of Aberdeen again saw the biggest price falls, with average prices dropping by 9.6% to £161,199

“Average prices in the City of Aberdeen have been showing year-on-year decreases for each month since June 2015,” added Kenny Crawford. “However in relation to volumes the City of Aberdeen had an increase in volume – of 4.2% – when comparing December 2016 with December 2015.”

Of the different types of properties available on the market, Flats or Maisonettes experienced the biggest increase in average prices, with a rise of 4.8% to £99,890. However, all property types showed some level of increase in average price in February 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year.

First-time buyers paid £111,698 on average for their property – an increase of 2.7% on the previous year.

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