New data from the Registers of Scotland has shown that Scotland reached an eight-year high regarding the number of properties sold, with a 4.5% increase on 2014.

In 2015, 97,701 residential properties were sold, the highest seen since 2008 with a total value of properties sold amounting to £16.5 billion, an 8.2% increase on the previous year.

The city of Edinburgh saw the highest number of sales as well as the highest value of properties overall. Sales in the Capital rose by 8.3% with close to 12,000 sales, with Glasgow having a rise of 12.2% and 11,600 sales. Staggeringly, Edinburgh represented 17.2% of the entire Scottish property market bringing in over £2.8billion to the Scottish economy.

Rise in Property Value in Scotland

As well as a substantial increase in the number of sales, the Scottish property market was boosted in terms of overall value of properties, with the average price of residential property in Scotland rising 3.6% in 2015 to £169,402.

Urban areas such as Edinburgh and Glasgow had substantially higher average property values with the highest average property being in Edinburgh at £238,036, an increase of 4.9% on 2014. Despite having fewer sales than in previous years, Aberdeen property values continued to rise.

Although the average price of all properties increased, semi-detached houses showed the largest rise in price, up 3.4% to £157,995. Detached properties had the highest average price at £249,921.

Although such properties showed the largest increase in value, flat remained the easiest type of property to sell with flat sales claiming over 36.2% of the overall real estate market. Semi-detached homes were the lowest type to sell, taking up 18% of the property sales

In total, the value of properties sold in Scotland exceeded £16.5 billion in the last year, easing concerns that some experts had regarding the new LBTT tax that was introduced in the last year.

Property for Sale in Edinburgh

While the housing market in Scotland, in general, was exceptionally positive, it was more so in Edinburgh with the area attracting a significant amount of investment. Areas in Edinburgh such as West Lothian and Midlothian saw a substantial boost in value and the number of sales. West Lothian saw a 10% increase in the volume of sales and a 20% rise in market value with Midlothian seeing an increase of just under 6%.

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Buying a property is one of the most important steps you can ever take and with many people opting to sell their property due to the strong performance of the market, there are many high-quality properties available.

When purchasing or selling a property in Edinburgh, expert legal advice and information can make a substantial difference and can take some of the pressure off purchasing a property. Get in touch with our team of experts today by using our online contact form, or call our team based in Edinburgh today on 0131 228 2000.