Average house prices up 2.4 per cent in a year

The average house price increased by £700 (0.4 per cent) on the previous month to reach £169,834. It is now £4,000 above its level at the same time last year, an increase of 2.4 per cent annually.

Across the country, two thirds of local authority areas (21 out of 32) saw prices grow in August, led by Inverclyde (up 5.7 per cent), Clackmannanshire (5 per cent) and South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire (which both saw prices up 4.4 per cent).

Despite a small fall in August (of 0.1 per cent), the average price in the City of Edinburgh is now £242,518, up £16,585 or 7.3 per cent on last year. East Renfrewshire, with average prices almost as high (£241,472) as Edinburgh, has also seen strong annual growth, of 8.7 per cent. The fastest growing areas over the past year, however, have been the Shetland Islands (up 11.7 per cent annually), and Na h-Eileanan Siar (up 10.8 per cent, despite a fall of 5 per cent last month), which is also the cheapest local authority in Scotland, with an average price of £105,755.

The biggest falls have been in Aberdeen City, down 8.8 per cent over the year, followed by Dumfries & Galloway (down 6.1 per cent).

The latest ONS transactions figures are also up, increasing 7 per cent in May over April, with 7,131 transactions, but down 17 per cent on the same month last year. This is due to large numbers of property purchases brought forward to March ahead of April’s introduction of an additional 3 per cent Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) surcharge on second homes.