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House Prices Growth Has Remained Steady Since January 2017
Estate agents report that the Scottish property market is at its strongest point for more than a decade following official figures revealing that the price of an average house increased by £10,000 in 2017.
A report from Registers of Scotland discovered that the average price of a property in Scotland rose by 7.3% since January 2017, now standing at £148,512.
This means that the rate at which Scottish house prices have grown, has surpassed the rest of the UK where property values increased by slightly less than 5% over the same period, falling slightly as we entered 2018.
The growth that we have seen has been driven by the continued need for new homes, a higher number of buyers, with the lack of supply available in the market. Most homes that are on the market for sale in sought after areas, are selling fast for often well above their asking price.
Janet Egdell the Registers of Scotland Operations Director and Accountable Officer says: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in January [and] have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date — from April to November 2017 — was 72,842. This is an increase of 7.9 per cent on the equivalent year to date position for November 2016.”
The most significant house price increases were seen in East and West Lothian, where average prices rose by 13.9% to £219,393 and 13.3% to £156,149 respectively.
Both of these areas have recently benefitted from large-scale housebuilding and are firmly in the appealing commuter belt for Edinburgh.
Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in January 2018 when compared with the same period year on year.
Detached properties saw the most significant increase, increasing by 8.6% to £261,291. The average price of flats saw an increase of 5.6% to £105,590, the lowest increase of all property types.
The average house price for a property purchased by a first-time buyer in January 2018 was £119,174, which was an increase of 6.5% compared with the same period in 2017.
Traditionally, we have experienced levels of house price growth in Scotland lagging behind other regions, but it seems to have now picked up thanks to the strength of the economies in the cities.
The continued lack of supply in the city hotspots has been driving up house prices. We have seen the same trend across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Buyers are recognising the brilliant value in the Scottish housing market and the great quality of life which can be found here, meaning that most properties on the market are seeing very fast selling times.
Looking at the whole of the UK, average house prices were £226,000, showing a 4.9% rise year on year according to stats produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
In England, house prices increased by 4.6% over the year to January, with the average price now £242,000.
Wales saw house prices rise by 4.5% over the past 12-month period to stand at £153,000.
Senior economist at PwC (Richard Snook), said: “Regional trends, which can be volatile, show a mixed picture. We are expecting UK-wide house price inflation of around 4 per cent in 2018.”
So, all in all, good news for the Scottish economy. The housing market has enjoyed good growth across 2017 and we’re now welcoming it catch up with the rest of the UK.
What’s Next?
If you’re looking to get your selling your property, the first thing you’ll need is a Home Report. We are RICS Charted Surveyors specialising in Home Reports across Scotland from as little as £85. Get in touch today to arrange a time to suit you. We offer early morning or evening and weekend appointments. Call us on 0131 608 0175 or email us at info@homereportcompany.co.uk.
