Average house prices in Scotland increased 0.5% in June, while annual growth jumped to 4.6%, from 2.9% last month, according to Your Move.
That’s well above the 3.3% in England and Wales recorded in June. Prices in Scotland have risen for the fifth month in succession, against three months of falling prices to June in England & Wales, with widespread annual increases and nearly half of all local authority areas seeing price rises over the month.
The latest available figures in Scotland don’t take account of the post-election period, but with transactions estimated to be up 8%, they show the country entered it on a strong footing.
The average house price in Scotland now stands at £175,941, up £7,779 over the year.
Continued growth in Scotland is driven by the strong performance of its two biggest cities in June, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which grew 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Both also show solid annual growth, of 4.6% and 10.6%.
Edinburgh’s £256,737 average is second only to East Renfrewshire (£262,203 and also growing strongly, up 4.6% over the month and 7.5% annually); Glasgow City, meanwhile, ranks just below mid table, with a price of £154,666. The city itself, but also East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and North Lanarkshire, as well as all neighbouring areas, saw new peak prices in the month. So, too, did the Shetland Islands.
Sales in both Glasgow and Edinburgh are supported by strong interest in affordable accommodation from first time buyers. According to the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders), the largest number of loans taken out in Q1 2017 was by first time buyers buying flats.
Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said: “With strong growth in both its biggest cities, Scotland’s market is on a strong footing with first time buyers contributing to this increase in activity. The increase in transactions is also encouraging, but we need to get more properties onto the market if that’s going to continue.”
Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, part of the LSL group of companies, said: “It’s good to see growth at both the top of the market and in more a affordable areas. There seems to be a particular hot spot around Glasgow – both the city itself and its neighbouring local authorities are all growing robustly.”