Rise in Number of Property Sales Across Scotland

The average in July 2017 was £149,185, according to the latest UK House Price Index (UK HPI). This is a fall of 4.8% compared to July the previous year and an increase of 2.8% when compared to the previous month.

Looking at other areas of the UK, the shows that:

Across the UK as a whole, the average house price in July was £226,185, which was an increase of 5.1% compared to July in the previous year and an increase of 1.1% when compared to the previous month.

There were apparently 8,241 residential sales in Scotland in May 2017 – an increase of 13.7% on May 2016 and an increase of 3.5% on the previous month. This compares with an annual decrease in sales volumes of 3.3% in England and annual increases in sales volumes of 9.0% in Wales and 5.0% in Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 – 2017). This rise in property sales has helped stimulate trade in the construction industry and and the central belt have seen a 15% increase in trade.

“Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in July with an increase of 4.8% when compared to July 2016,” commented business development and information director Kenny Crawford. “This represents the biggest percentage increase year-on-year since March 2015.”

“While average prices have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year, sales volumes figures have been more changeable over the 12 months to May,” he added. “May 2017 showed an increase in sales volumes in Scotland of 13.7% when compared with May 2016; however, volumes in May 2016 were lower than usual, a possible effect of the introduction of changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax that came into effect on 1st April 2016.”

The City of Edinburgh continues to be the top local authority in terms of sales volumes, with 1,094 sales. The other local authorities making up the top five were Glasgow City (899 sales), Fife (565 sales), South Lanarkshire (506 sales) and North Lanarkshire (396 sales).

The City of Edinburgh also experienced the biggest average price increases in Scotland, with prices rising by 9.6% on average to £243,920. The biggest decrease was again in Aberdeen City, where prices fell by 7.7% to £166,836. Overall, prices rose on average in 30 of the 32 local authorities, when comparing prices with the previous year.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in July 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Detached properties apparently showed the biggest increase, rising by 5.6% to £255,993.

For expert legal advice on buying or selling property in Scotland then our specialist property lawyers today.