West Lothian property prices continue to rise

West Lothian looks set to remain as Scotland’s new property hotspot as last year's buoyant local market continues into 2016.

The number of homes being sold in Bathgate, Broxburn, Livingston, Linlithgow (pictured) and the surrounding areas shot up by 23.1% between July and September last year, 17% faster than the rest of Scotland.

The last figures compiled by Registers of Scotland (RoS) also show that the value of sales in the region rose by more than 30% to £148million over the same period.

Across the country, a total of 28,019 properties were submitted for registration between July and September, the highest volume of sales for any quarter since Q1 of 2008-09.

The City of Edinburgh was the largest overall market, with sales of over £805million for the quarter, an increase of 6.2% on the previous year.

West Lothian growth set to continue

West Lothian property expert Sean MacMillan, a Partner at Aberdein Considine, the region is becoming increasingly popular with househunters.

And he expects new RoS figures published on Tuesday to show that trend continuing.

“It’s no real surprise that West Lothian continues its steady increase in both volume of property sales and in sale prices when considered in the wider context of the central belt housing market,” he said.

“Recent increases in house prices in Glasgow and more importantly Edinburgh has had a significant effect on the West Lothian market.

“Over a quarter of workers living in West Lothian work in Edinburgh. If one considers that the average price of a detached home in Edinburgh has risen by 4.5% from the previous quarter to almost £400,000 and the average flat in Edinburgh now costs almost £200,000 it is perhaps no wonder that more and more people in the Capital are considering the benefits which come with living in West Lothian where they can get a great deal more ‘bang for their buck’. “

He added: “Transport links from West Lothian to Edinburgh and indeed to Glasgow, Stirling and further afield have been improved significantly in the past five years and according to West Lothian Council statistics West Lothian residents are now within an hour’s drive of 60% of Scotland’s population and of 54% of all Scottish businesses.

“Substantial new-build developments are underway around the county, most notably in Winchburgh, Bathgate (Wester Inch), Whitburn (Heartlands) and East Calder (Calderwood), which will serve to further fuel the volume of sales heading into 2016 and beyond.”