02 Feb 2016
Scottish property prices hit new record
Property sales have surged in Edinburgh, West Lothian, Perth and Glasgow, according official statistics published today.
The volume of residential sales in Scotland rose 14.5% in the third quarter of 2015-16 compared to the same period in the previous year, according to official statistics published by Registers of Scotland (RoS).
A total of 28,779 properties were submitted for registration between October and December, the highest volume of sales for any quarter since quarter one of 2008-09.
Central belt boom
The average price of a property in Edinburgh, up 3.2% at £233,255, remains the highest in Scotland. A total of 3,532 properties were sold in the city during the quarter, up 21.4% on the same period last year.
It’s a similar picture in neighbouring West Lothian, where sales for the quarter rose 19.7% to 916 – pushing the region’s average property price up by more than 7% to £164,779.
And in Glasgow, sales rose by 19.6 to 3,337 for the quarter. The average home on Scotland’s largest city now costs £140,837, up 8% year on year.
Perth and Stirling continue to grow
In Perth, sales rose 19.3% to help the region register 864 sales during the quarter. Average prices also rose marginally to £189,716
Stirling property prices have risen by 0.3% to £184,100 on the back of strong sale volumes, which are up 10.6% to 448.
Tougher market in the north-east
Sales in Aberdeen City slid by 12% to 1,274 for the quarter. Average property prices in the city fared better, down just 1.8% at £214,799.
Prices remained static in Aberdeenshire at £231,704 – although sales fell 5.3% to 1,436.
Analysis
Bob Fraser, Senior Property Partner at Aberdein Considine, said the third quarter is usually the busiest and therefore accurately reflects the property market.
He said: "The increase in activity is very encouraging and shows the continued recovery in the general Scottish market. Edinburgh continues to improve while areas such as East Ayrshire show a dramatic increase in values indicating a wider geographic spread in activity.
"Particularly heartening is the strength of the flat market which in turn traditionally drives the upper market.
"The north-east figures reflect the downturn in the energy sector but it should be remembered that these figures follow on from an historically high boom market and although they show a decline in terms of these historic values and volumes, they still show a relatively strong market."
The total value of sales across Scotland registered between October and December increased by 16.3% to just under £4.8billion. This represents the highest value of sale for any quarter since quarter one of 2008-09.
The City of Edinburgh remained the largest market with sales of just under £824million for the quarter, an increase of 25.3% on the previous year.
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