House prices across the UK increased by 7.7% on average on an annual basis in September, taking the average property value to £217,888. On a monthly basis, average prices rose by 0.2% compared to August.

UK Position

These headline figures were published in the latest UK House Price Index, which also revealed a geographical breakdown of house price movements:

- In England, the September data shows an annual price increase of 8.3%, which takes the average property value to £234,250. Monthly house prices have risen by 0.2% since August 2016.
- Wales shows an annual price increase of 4.4%, taking the average property value to £146,388. Monthly house prices have risen by 0.2% since August 2016.
- London shows an annual price increase of 10.9%, which takes the average property value to £487,649. Monthly house prices have risen by 1.4% since August 2016.

The Position in Scotland

Registers of Scotland has provided a more detailed analysis of the UK House Price Index figures relating to Scotland.

They show that the average price of a property in Scotland in September 2016 was £143,006 – an increase of 3.4% on the previous year and an increase of 0.2% when compared to August.

Areas that experienced the largest number of sales were the City of Edinburgh, which saw 1,169 sales, Glasgow City (992 sales), Fife (606 sales), South Lanarkshire (574 sales) and Highland (446 sales).

The local authority area of East Renfrewshire saw the biggest increase in average house prices over the year, with a 15.7% increase that took the average price to £222,034. The City of Aberdeen once again saw the biggest fall in prices (10.3%), with the average price falling to £171,955.

All types of properties experienced an increase in average prices when compared with the previous year, with detached properties apparently showing the biggest increase of 4.4% to £249,247.

The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier rose by 3.7% over the previous year to £171,454, while the average price for property purchased by a first time buyer was £115,552 – an increase of 3.1% on the previous year.

House buyers paying for their property in cash spent an average of £132,032, which is an increase of 3.5% over the previous year, whereas those taking out a mortgage to fund the purchase paid an average of £148,075 – an increase of 3.4%.

Official Comment

Commenting on the Scottish figures, Registers of Scotland director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford, said:

“The percentage increases in average house prices in Scotland, while below the UK average, have been showing steady growth, with month-on-month increases in every month this year apart from February.

“Average prices have been steadily increasing on a year-on-year basis, too, with only one drop in average price being recorded in the last three years. This was in March of this year.

“The volume of residential sales in Scotland in July 2016 was 9,108 – a decrease of 9.1% on the previous year, but up 5.7% on last month and also 11.8% higher than July 2014 and 19.6% higher than July 2013.”

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